Page 4 - ARUBA TODAY

A4 U.S. NEWS
Thursday 5 april 2018

Dems, GOP using immigration

in House races, but differently

By ALAN FRAM parties are using the fight fled Vietnam as a child.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Both over immigration — fanned Mai Khanh Tran's cam-
Democrats and Republi- by tweets from President paign website praises "the
cans think the stalemate Donald Trump about a cri- open arms of a country"
between President Donald sis on the Mexican border that offered "my shot at the
Trump and Congress over that others say doesn't ex- American Dream." Trump
immigration can help them ist — to fire up base vot- this week amplified his
In this Oct. 12, 2017, file photo, House Foreign Affairs Committee in November's congressio- ers in midterm elections. rhetoric with tweets about
Chairman Ed Royce, R-Calif., presides over a markup of a bill to nal elections. Each could Democrats think it can "ridiculous" laws making it
expand sanctions against Iran with respect to its ballistic missile be right. In House races help them reach minorities, hard to send arrivals from
program, on Capitol Hill in Washington. across the country, both young people and subur- Mexico "back where they
Associated Press ban moderates repelled came from." It's the sort of
by Trump's strident anti- language Democrats hope
immigrant stances, while will send voters their way. Al-
Republicans have noted though the economy and
his success in using prom- health care register higher
ises to crack down on im- as voter concerns, Demo-
migration to energize disaf- crats see advantages from
fected conservatives. As a touting Congress' attempt
result, Democrats are using to shield young "Dreamer"
the issue to emphasize in- immigrants from deporta-
clusivity and are targeting tion. That effort collapsed
border regions, suburbs in February after Trump re-
and areas with immigrant jected $25 billion to build
populations. Republicans, his treasured border wall
whose districts tend to be with Mexico in exchange
less diverse, plan to make for offering possible citizen-
immigration a law-and- ship for Dreamers who were
order issue that appeals to brought illegally to the U.S.
conservatives all around as children and who have
the U.S. The debate is likely been temporarily protect-
to roil races in California, ed by the Deferred Action
Texas, Florida, Arizona, per- for Childhood Arrivals pro-
haps New Mexico and Vir- gram. Democrats say the
ginia's Washington, D.C., gridlock lets them convey
suburbs. One diverse South- a message of tolerance
ern California House district that can woo voters, con-
centered on the sprawl tributors and volunteers —
of Orange County has al- including liberals, minorities
ready become a testing and moderates alienated
ground for each party's im- by Trump's words. "Im-
migration strategy. The re- migration is one of those
tirement of 13-term Repub- cultural touchstone issues"
lican Rep. Ed Royce makes that shows Democrats
the seat a prime target for are ready to "stand up to
Democrats trying to pick Trump," said Mike Lux, a
up 23 seats in November's liberal Democratic consul-
elections, enough to grab tant. Bliss' group ran TV ads
House control. Seventeen attacking Democrat Conor
GOP, Democratic and in- Lamb on immigration in
dependent candidates are the waning weeks of last
vying in a multiparty June month's special election
5 primary, a group that in- in an open, overwhelm-
cludes a Republican who ingly white House district in
has worked to scuttle pro- western Pennsylvania that
immigrant sanctuary city heavily backed Trump in
laws and a Democrat who 2016.q