Discussion: Senators Launch Bipartisan Effort To Protect DREAMers From Trump

Orrin Hatch was a big fan of the DREAM Act until The Black Guy™ said he liked it.

Anything that prevents the government from deporting innocent children will start riots among the Trump faithful, unfortunately.

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Well, it is actually still the Obama era…

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HO is about to learn that any president, regardless of party, is seen a mere transient, in DC for at most 8 years, and is thus far less important than the grand poobahs of the Senate, at least in their opinions. What will be interesting is how this plays out, since presidents actually have limited powers to act domestically w/o Congress.

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Touche :raised_hands:
Let’s begin the countdown for republican numb-nuts coming up with anything.

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Does it bother anyone else that all it takes to call something “bipartisan” is one senator?

This is why Joe “I’ll Beat The Hell Out Of You For Burning A Flag” Manchin is so dangerous.
(As was his TigerBeat idol, Joe “Let’s Start A Land War In Asia” Lieberman.)
By offering “bipartisan” cover for GOP crimes.

Like fragging the ACA and Medicare.
Or gutting Dodd-Frank and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Or showering billionaires with even more tax cuts.
While forcing sexagenarians to work even longer for a return on their Social Security contributions.

Republicans are Orwellian masters at using a “bipartisan” fig-leaf to push disastrous legislation.
And corporate “journalists” play right along with the ruse.

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Well, this is refreshing to see. Any chance it will get through the House?

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I don’t think he can pardon them. Most have not committed a crime.

A man of True Grit, he fought against Trump tooth and nail by refusing to vote in the Presidential election.

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Just asking, but isn’t just living here as an undocumented (no papers) immigrant illegal? Therefore, wouldn’t they be pardonable? Sure would piss off the trumpsters if they were irreversably allowed to stay here.

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Only if some Republicans defy the “freedom caucus” .

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Yeah. Just being here without papers is not a crime in itself.

Of course he can issue pardons under the Constitution. Pardons for having committed federal crimes is what the pardoning power is all about. Article 2. Section 2.

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You are absolutely right.

Yes it is.

The constitution actually uses very broad language-- “offenses against the United States”, which would be broader than just crimes.

You and anybody else who issues calls for Obama to man up and particularly to do something which is not in his power to do, i.e. grant pardons needs to quit it. This president has been nearly heroic and fearless in accomplishing what he has in the face of dug in R instrangence since the day he was inaugurated in 2009. Are you prepared to tell trumpet to man up, because he’s the weakling who’s going to endanger all of us.

@j_from_texas Our fearless football player, 49er Colin K., who made a fearless display of not singing the Star Spangled Banner in solidarity with oppressed black people didn’t vote either. To me a no vote was a vote for the bigot.

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I don’t think so. My understanding is that crossing the border illegally is a crime but simply being here is not. People who come on student or tourist visas and overstay are not committing a crime, for example. Any dreamer that got here that way would be subject to deportation, but not a jail sentence. Even if they crossed illegally, it would be the crossing that counts as a crime, not their presence in the country. I read this awhile back and could of course be wrong. I’d be interested (and accepting) in anything you have to the contrary. I don’t see how a presidential pardon would affect ones immigration status.

I’m not sure that’s true. IF you aren’t here legally you aren’t here legally. Nobody knows that until you get caught at which point you can be punished for having been here illegally.

This is pretty true across the board when anyone overstays a VISA in a country - if you are questioned by authorities and they find out your VISA has expired then you can be arrested because you in the country illegally.

I agree no vote was a vote for Trump, as was a vote for a third party candidate. One of my Texas friends voted for Stein because he didn’t think his vote would matter in Texas anyway. Then he called the other day to tell me he donated to the Stein recount. I noted that the Stein vote in one of the three states - was it Wisconsin? - exceeded Trump’s margin over Clinton.
I don’t think you are implying that not voting makes one a bigot.

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Nah—but he did get a lovely new Merry Widow as a gift.