Senate rejects immigration bills; young immigrants in limbo
WASHINGTON (AP) â The Senate has left hundreds of thousands of âDreamerâ immigrants in limbo  rejecting rival plans that would have spared them from deportation and strengthened the nationâs border security. Senators dealt  President Donald Trump  an especially galling defeat as more than a quarter of fellow Republicans abandoned  him  on an issue that helped propel  him  to the White House.
Also defeated Thursday was a plan by a bipartisan group of senators who offered a compromise that would have shielded the young immigrants and financed Trumpâs demands for money to build  his  border wall  though more gradually than  he  wants. Eight Republicans joined most Democrats in backing that plan  but it fell short after the White House threatened a veto and GOP leaders opposed it.
The Senate votes left the young immigrants facing a March 5 deadline that  Trump  has given Congress for restoring the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program  or DACA  that he annulled last year. Federal courts have blocked him temporarily from dismantling the Obama-era initiative  but without congressional action the immigrants will face growing risks of deportation as their protections expire.
âIt looks like demagogues on the left and the right win again on immigration â said Sen. Lindsey Graham  R-S.C.  who helped craft the bipartisan package but also backed  Trump âs plan. He added  âThe only way forward is for  President Trump  to grab the reins and lead us to a solution.â
That scenario wasnât in sight Thursday. The White House trashed the bipartisan proposal as âdangerous policy that will harm the nation â denouncing a provision directing the government to prioritize enforcement efforts against immigrants who arrive illegally â beginning in July.  Trump  proved unwilling to fold on  his  demands for a tougher bill  reflecting the hard-line immigration stance that fueled  his  presidential run.
After the Senate rejected all four proposals on Thursday  Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell  R-Ky.  blamed Democrats for failing to accept what he said was a âgenerousâ offer from  Trump .
 Trump  had dangled a chance for citizenship for 1.8 million young immigrants  meeting a top Democratic demand. But that plan also included $25 billion to build  his  border wall with Mexico and enact other border security measures  tighter curbs on relatives whom legal immigrants could sponsor for citizenship and an end to a visa lottery that encourages immigration from diverse nations.
Democrats said  Trump  was the major hindrance to a broader deal.
WASHINGTON (AP) â The Senate has left hundreds of thousands of âDreamerâ immigrants in limbo  rejecting rival plans that would have spared them from deportation and strengthened the nationâs border security. Senators dealt  President  [TGT]   an especially galling defeat as more than a quarter of fellow Republicans abandoned  him  on an issue that helped propel  him  to the White House.
Also defeated Thursday was a plan by a bipartisan group of senators who offered a compromise that would have shielded the young immigrants and financed Trumpâs demands for money to build  his  border wall  though more gradually than  he  wants. Eight Republicans joined most Democrats in backing that plan  but it fell short after the White House threatened a veto and GOP leaders opposed it.
The Senate votes left the young immigrants facing a March 5 deadline that  Trump  has given Congress for restoring the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program  or DACA  that he annulled last year. Federal courts have blocked him temporarily from dismantling the Obama-era initiative  but without congressional action the immigrants will face growing risks of deportation as their protections expire.
âIt looks like demagogues on the left and the right win again on immigration â said Sen. Lindsey Graham  R-S.C.  who helped craft the bipartisan package but also backed  Trump âs plan. He added  âThe only way forward is for  President Trump  to grab the reins and lead us to a solution.â
That scenario wasnât in sight Thursday. The White House trashed the bipartisan proposal as âdangerous policy that will harm the nation â denouncing a provision directing the government to prioritize enforcement efforts against immigrants who arrive illegally â beginning in July.  Trump  proved unwilling to fold on  his  demands for a tougher bill  reflecting the hard-line immigration stance that fueled  his  presidential run.
After the Senate rejected all four proposals on Thursday  Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell  R-Ky.  blamed Democrats for failing to accept what he said was a âgenerousâ offer from  Trump .
 Trump  had dangled a chance for citizenship for 1.8 million young immigrants  meeting a top Democratic demand. But that plan also included $25 billion to build  his  border wall with Mexico and enact other border security measures  tighter curbs on relatives whom legal immigrants could sponsor for citizenship and an end to a visa lottery that encourages immigration from diverse nations.
Democrats said  Trump  was the major hindrance to a broader deal.