Cruz And Feinstein Might Team Up To Craft A Bipartisan Immigration Solution

You KNOW they’re getting desperate when this kind of stuff starts happening.

Word has it Sens. Ted Cruz and Dianne Feinstein are teaming up to craft a bipartisan immigration bill. It’s incredibly fascinating. It’s not every day that we see two polar opposites come together on issues as contentious as illegal immigration.

The two senators both represent border states but couldn’t be further apart on immigration. Feinstein wants to pass a “clean” bill to enshrine protections for young immigrants threatened by deportation; Cruz warned that Republicans would lose Congress if they provided “amnesty” to those same people.

But that might be the point: Cruz and Feinstein are trying to hash out a compromise that shields families from being separated and can win a strong majority in the Senate. If these two, of all people, can come to terms on a deal, there’s no reason for anyone in the chamber to vote against it, their colleagues reason.

Exactly. In many ways, both senators represent the “extreme” wings of their side. Feinstein is someone who I could TOTALLY see supporting open borders, while Cruz supports a wall.  (Isn’t it funny how that’s considered “extreme”?) The point here being, if those two can reach a compromise, surely, it will satisfy their colleagues across the board. At least, they’re HOPING that’s how this plays out.

“This is a problem that everyone, no matter what end of the political spectrum you are on, believes needs to be fixed. Ultimately, it makes strange bedfellows,” said Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.), who attended a bipartisan meeting on Wednesday that included Cruz and Feinstein. “Dianne’s a longtime legislator. I think that Sen. Cruz is interested in getting this issue solved.”

Both Cruz and Feinstein are up for reelection this year, and if they’re trying to sell themselves as compromisers who get things done, this could bode well for them both. However, I feel compelled to point out that Feinstein turned 85 yesterday. Why is she not retiring?

Cruz and Feinstein each have introduced their own bill to address the family separation issue, and they take divergent approaches. Cruz’s plan would allow asylum-seeking families to be detained together while expediting court hearings, a problem for Democrats; Feinstein’s legislation would be a return to what the GOP calls a “catch-and-release” policy that conservatives loathe. A third bill, written by Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), is similar to Cruz’s bill but codifies exceptions to a 1997 settlement that Democrats argue would lead to indefinite detention.

During a meeting in Sen. Susan Collins’ (R-Maine) office on Wednesday, senators in both parties discussed requiring the use of ankle bracelets to track families that have been caught crossing the border illegally. So far, Cruz and Feinstein don’t seem to have agreed to much other than to keep meeting as the issue wends its way through the courts. Producing a bill remains a long shot.

It could happen. We’ll just have to wait and see. I’m going to try to remain cautiously optimistic.

h/t Politico