Citing 'dysfunctional' Congress, senators consider kicking the can on DACA solution for another year

A DACA decision could be delayed for another year. — (Image credit: JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images)

With a March 5 deadline looming for finding a legislative answer for people brought to the U.S. illegally as children, senators are reportedly considering a temporary fix that would put the issue off for another year, Politico reports. "That may be where we're headed because, you know, Congress is pretty dysfunctional," warned Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.).

On Monday, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) plan to introduce bipartisan immigration legislation that would give Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients a pathway to citizenship, although Politico claims the approach is "unlikely to do the trick."

Still, with a temporary fix increasingly looking like the only realistic option, senators aren't happy: "I think that's a lazy way out of fixing a problem that we're on the brink of being able to fix," argued Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) while Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said "I'm a little concerned that if it's a very short-term fix that [DACA recipients are] still living in fear of what's gonna happen, rather than knowing that they can live in this country and work towards becoming a citizen, assuming they have a good record."

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Last month, the government partially shut down after Democrats insisted they couldn't agree to a budget unless DACA was addressed. With the budget deadline coming up again on Thursday of this week, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) told CNN's State of the Union: "I don't see a government shutdown coming, but I do see a promise by [Sen. Mitch] McConnell to finally bring this critical issue that affects the lives of hundreds of thousands of people in America, finally bringing it to a full debate. That's what we were looking for when there was a shutdown. We've achieved that goal, we're moving forward."

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.