Last year, Congress passed a short-term spending bill to keep the government running through January 19.  Without the approval of new legislation to fund federal operations, the government will shut down on January 20.

Senate Democrats are using the leverage of a looming government shutdown to demand that legislation addressing the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program occur either before or as part of a spending bill.

DACA allows undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as minors and remained here to receive a renewable two-year deferral from deportation.

In an effort to negotiate a deal, President Trump hosted a bipartisan group of congressional leaders at the White House on January 9 to discuss the spending bill and issues that could be included.

After discussions, President Trump said he would support a bill that replaces DACA combined with tightened border security, limiting chain migration that allows legal immigrants to sponsor family members for immigration to the US, and ending or restricting a diversity visa lottery system

“I was encouraged by what the president said,” Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) said afterward, adding the “devil is in the details.”

“I will call up a DACA-related immigration bill that I know the president will sign,” McConnell said. “It will not be part of any overall spending agreement.”

After attending the White House meeting, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA)  said “Addressing these four issues — border security, the visa lottery, chain migration, and then something for DACA recipients — is a great first step.  I think there are a lot of other things that need to be done on immigration.”

On January 10, Rep. Goodlatte introduced the Securing America’s Future Act which includes more aggressive enforcement measures such as mandating that employers use E-Verify in hiring (SAF has long opposed mandatory E-Verify without the creation of a program to provide an adequate and reliable guestworker program), authorizing the construction of a border wall, and authorizes an additional 5,000 border patrol agents.  The bill creates a new agricultural worker program that will replace the existing H-2A program.  It also addresses the DACA issue but Goodlatte stressed that “there is no new or special path to citizenship for these individuals” in the bill.

The Goodlatte bill has garnered significant support from House Republicans who believe it could help them avoid being stuck with an unpopular immigration deal from the Senate.

Meanwhile, the date when the government will run out of funding is quickly approaching.