Hispanic Caucus chair to Ryan on DACA: ‘You and I, let’s get this done’

The top Hispanic House Democrat on Tuesday challenged Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) to sit down with her to find a bipartisan replacement for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-N.M.), the chairwoman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), walked uninvited to Ryan’s Capitol Hill office to deliver her request, along with a handwritten note and a hula hoop.

“DACA recipients have shown that they’re willing to jump through any hoop to stay in the only country they know. Let’s show them that we’re willing to do the same,” read Lujan Grisham’s note.

{mosads}

President Trump rescinded DACA in September, giving Congress a six-month window to replace the Obama-era program before recipients started losing their benefits en masse.

That deadline came and went Monday, but existing recipients are allowed to keep renewing their DACA status thanks to a court injunction against Trump’s order.

Still, Congress failed to meet the deadline, with four bills falling flat in the Senate and only a conservative Republican bill that’s expected to fail in the House pipeline.

In her note, Lujan Grisham also asked Ryan to bring up “the Dream Act or USA Act without delay.”

The Dream and USA acts are bipartisan bills that provide permanent work permits and relief from deportation for Dreamers — undocumented immigrants who arrived in the country as minors.

The USA Act, a collaboration between Reps. Will Hurd (R-Texas) and Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.), includes border security provisions intended to lure Republican votes.

But Lujan Grisham said Ryan “[has jumped through hoops] to not do it.”

“I want him to know that I want to spend some time with him to talk about these issues,” she added. “We can start from a whole new baseline, you and I, let’s get this done.”

She added that a bipartisan coalition of rank and file members, built in the months after DACA was canceled, is holding strong.

During her visit to Ryan’s office, Lujan Grisham ran into Republican Reps. Mario Díaz-Balart (Fla.) and Jeff Denham (Calif.), both supporters of relief for Dreamers.

“It’s nice that [they] were there because it shows that we are still really fighting as a bipartisan block to get leadership on both sides,” she said. “My job is to make sure that Democrats are clear — the leadership — that the omnibus is a leverage point. You need to be using it, you need to find every vehicle to solve this problem productively.”

House Minority Whip Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) — himself a staunch advocate for DACA relief — said Tuesday that’s not the direction Democrats are taking in the budget negotiations.

“I think the omnibus needs to be considered on its own merits, and then we ought to move ahead on DACA,” said Hoyer.

Still, Lujan Grisham said she’ll keep going to Ryan’s office to ask for a meeting.

“Every day,” she said. “Until we get Dreamers done.”

“I have a lot more presents, some of them aren’t as good,” she added.