Published June 22. 2018 07:13AM
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House Republican immigration overhaul is dangling precariously. It is imperiled by stubborn differences between conservative and moderate factions — and by President Donald Trump’s running commentary about a bill he only half-heartedly supported and then suggested would never become law.
Republican leaders were twice forced to postpone final voting, first until Friday and then punting it to next week, as negotiators made a last-ditch push for support. They were trying to persuade colleagues to seize the moment and tackle immigration problems by approving the bill, which includes $25 billion for Trump’s border wall and a path to citizenship for young immigrants who have lived in the U.S. illegally since childhood.
Demonstrators with the Poor People’s Campaign await processing by U.S. Capitol Police after being peacefully arrested at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, June 21, 2018, where they protested the Trump administration and Congress’ policies towards immigrant children and families and the poor. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Rep. Steve Russell, R-Okla., left, and Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., walk to a closed-door meeting with House Republicans seeking more information about compromise legislation on immigration, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, June 21, 2018. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md., left, gestures while speaking during a demonstration opposed to President Trump’s family separation policy, in front of the White House in Washington, Thursday, June 21, 2018. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, R-Wis., meets with reporters before a House showdown on immigration, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, June 21, 2018. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
People hold up signs and photographs during a demonstration opposed to the White House policy that separated more than 2,300 children from their parents over the past several weeks in front of the White House in Washington, Thursday, June 21, 2018. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)