In Washington D.C. Thursday U.S. lawmakers voted down one immigration bill, the more conservative one that offered no path to citizenship for "Dreamer" immigrants, earlier in the day, and shelved a second vote a compromise bill for Friday.
U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey (D-TX 33rd District), of Fort Worth, told NBC 5 he would not vote for either bill, saying even though the bill is designed to keep families together it's still not a good bill and that it would even make immigration problems in the country worse because it doesn't address all of the country's immigration needs.
House Republicans have been struggling on rival immigration bills, and the compromise was negotiated between GOP conservative and moderate factions. President Donald Trump seemed to undermine the compromise effort Thursday with a tweet suggesting any measure the House approved would be doomed in the Senate anyway.
Family Separation at the Border, Explained
In the last few weeks, controversial immigration policies resulted in the separation of thousands of families who attempted to cross the border. President Donald Trump reversed himself, but not before 2,342 children were taken from their parents, according to statistics from the Department of Homeland Security.
Data: DHS, HHS
Interactive: Peter Andringa, Sabrina Cheung/NBC; Reporting: Noreen O'Donnell/NBC
When asked about the struggle Republicans have faced in getting an immigration bill passed, since they control both the House and Senate, U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX 32nd District), of Dallas, said they'll get a great plan passed but that it will take all Republicans to do it.
“Well it has not been done since 1986. It is a difficult issue because everybody is looking for their specific content. Now, what I would say to you is we are going to get a plan done. We have a great plan, but it is going to have to be all off Republicans, because our friends, the Democrats, have indicated they will not offer one vote even in support of issues that perhaps they agree with. So, it's up to one party -- the problem is, Donald Trump is involved,” said Sessions.
U.S. Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX 6th District), of Ennis, told NBC 5 he planned to vote for both immigration bills.
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“This is just a step in the process. We are going to get a bill that funds the President's, at least part of, the President's border wall, and also protects the DACA students," Barton said. "It will happen, in my opinion, in this Congress. Unfortunately, not going to happen today. We will keep coming back."
U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX 16th District) does not see either of the bills passing without support from his party.
“Neither of them have any Democratic support, because there was no Democratic input at the table,” said O’Rourke.
