House Republicans abandon vote on border bill

By Balitang America Staff, ABS-CBN North America Bureau

July 31, 2014

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – Time ran out for the House Republican plan to address the border crisis and an attempt to block President Barack Obama from granting work authorization and deportation relief to certain undocumented immigrants.

House Republican leaders canceled a Thursday vote on their $659 million bill to tackle the illegal immigration surge at the southern border after failing to rally support.

A second bill that would block President Obama’s from expanding his deferred action for childhood arrivals program, or DACA, to undocumented parents was also abandoned.

In a joint statement, House GOP leaders said the “…situation shows the intense concern within our conference — and among the American people — about the need to ensure the security of our borders and the president’s refusal to faithfully execute our laws.”

The Senate’s $2.7-billion emergency border plan moves forward after getting a narrow approval late Wednesday. The bill still must overcome significant hurdles before it can win final passage.

Meanwhile, the White house has been weighing a range of possible executive orders that President Obama might issue to expand the DACA program and spare certain undocumented immigrants from deportation.

One option focuses on helping the undocumented parents or legal guardians of U.S. citizen children or DACA recipients.