美國國會議員再次聚焦移民議案

U.S. senators expressed differing expectations on Tuesday for what Congress might produce on thorny immigration topics, one day after a government shutdown ended on a promise of Senate action to protect young immigrants and boost border security.

On Monday, McConnell said he intended for the Senate to consider legislation addressing the plight of undocumented immigrants brought to America as children and other issues by Feb. 8, when U.S. government funding expires once again. The assurance convinced more than 30 Senate Democrats to join Republicans in voting to end a three-day partial federal shutdown.

“The Republican majority now has 16 days to work with us to write a bill that can get 60 votes [in the 100-member Senate] and prevent Dreamers [young immigrants] from being deported,” Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said. “The clock is ticking.”

President Donald Trump already rejected an immigration proposal negotiated by three Republican and three Democratic senators that reportedly included a legislative fix for recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals [DACA], enhanced border security and reforms to legal immigration. A top Trump ally on Capitol Hill, Republican Sen. David Perdue of Georgia, dismissed the deal as a starting point for negotiations going forward.

Schumer, meanwhile, retracted a tentative offer on border wall funding he reportedly made to the president in private talks at the White House last week.

Democrats opposed the wall but expressed willingness to back limited funding for physical barrier construction in order to reach a deal on DACA recipients. Given the president's rejection of that deal, Democrats said negotiations must start from scratch on all items, including the border wall.美國國會將如何在艱難的移民問題上找到答案，兩黨參議員表示了不同的期待。一天前，參議院答應採取行動，保護年幼移民人口，強化邊境安全，才使聯邦政府停擺得以結束。

來自肯塔基州共和黨籍多數黨領袖麥康奈爾參議員星期一說，他計劃2月8號之前安排參議院討論如何解決那些幼年來美的無證移民面臨的問題。美國聯邦政府只獲得了維持到2月8號的資金。麥康內爾的保證說服了30多名民主黨參議員投票通過了臨時預算法案，結束了政府的部分關閉。

來自紐約州民主黨籍少數黨領袖舒默參議員說：“共和黨只有16天的時間與民主黨合作，讓這些‘追夢者'不被遞解出境，這樣才能爭取到通過法案所需的60張贊成票。”

川普總統已經拒絕了三名共和黨參議員和三名民主黨參議員談判達成的移民法案建議。據報道，這項建議包括解決“幼年來美暫緩遞解計劃”保護的年輕無證移民的問題、加強邊防，以及改革移民政策。川普總統在國會山的堅強盟友、來自喬治亞州的珀杜參議員說，那隻不過是繼續談判的一個起點。

與此同時，舒默參議員收回了他據報在白宮與川普總統私下會談時表示會支持爲在美墨邊界建造圍牆的保證。

民主黨人反對建邊界牆，但是如果能在“幼年來美暫緩遞解計劃”的問題上達成協議，願意考慮同意爲建牆提供有限的撥款。而現在民主黨人說，鑑於川普總統已經拒絕瞭解決無證年輕移民的建議，那麼包括邊界圍牆在內的一切問題都要從頭開始。