Ryan: ‘Do not’ doubt my commitment to solving DACA

Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) on Thursday had a message for his critics who don’t think he’s serious about protecting hundreds of thousands of young undocumented immigrants: Don’t doubt me.

“I know that there is a real commitment to solving the DACA challenge in both political parties. That’s a commitment that I share. To anyone who doubts my intention to solve this problem and bring up a DACA and immigration reform bill, do not,” Ryan told reporters at his weekly news conference in the Capitol.  

“We will bring a solution to the floor — one that the president will sign.”

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House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and other Democrats are pressuring Ryan to immediately bring legislation to the floor to shield from deportation the so-called Dreamers, immigrants who were brought to country illegally as children. 

In a record-setting eight-hour speech on the House floor Wednesday, Pelosi vowed to oppose a bipartisan deal to boost spending and avert a government shutdown early Friday because the agreement excluded an immigration solution. President Trump has said protections will end next month for about 800,000 recipients of the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

The Speaker, however, argued that passing the massive budget caps deal Thursday would allow Congress to focus its efforts on the immigration issue.

“Guess what? In order to shift our focus and get onto the next big priority, which is a DACA solution, we’ve got to get this budget agreement done,” Ryan said. “And I’ll say it once and I’ll say it again, we will bring a DACA solution to the floor.”

Another point of contention between Ryan and Pelosi is how exactly an immigration bill will come to the floor. Pelosi has asked Ryan for a more free-wheeling amendment process, where competing proposals come to the floor and the most popular bill advances.

But Ryan has rejected that approach, saying he’ll only bring an immigration bill to the floor that he’s sure Trump will sign.

“I want to make sure we get it done right the first time. I don’t want to just risk a veto. I want to get it right the first time, and I think we can get there,” Ryan said. “I’m confident we can bring a bipartisan solution to the floor that can get signed into law and solve this problem.”