Aurora’s Congressman Mike Coffman kept a promise and bucked his party’s extremists fighting a petty political battle with President Barack Obama — at the expense of millions of innocent people.
Coffman, a Republican, voted against a broad bill what seeks to undo the ability of illegal immigrants brought here as children to find a permanent home in the United States.
Good for you, Congressman. It was an impressive and important move. The vote was nothing but a flagrant political slap to President Barack Obama as retribution for seeking administrative ways to solve immigration problems. But it passed, 236-191 because other Republicans don’t have the temerity and good sense Coffman showed.
“The President’s executive actions are clearly unconstitutional and I strongly oppose his unilateral decisions on immigration but my party needs to stop just saying what we are against and start saying what we are for when it comes to fixing our broken immigration system,” Coffman said in a statement. “Under the DACA amendment that passed, young people who were taken to this country as children, who grew up here, went to school here, and often know of no other country but the United States, would not be allowed to renew their status and would face deportation. We should have had an opportunity to pass a version of the DACA program into law. Moving forward, immigration reform should be about securing our borders, growing our economy and keeping families together and we need to do it all the constitutional way – through Congress.”
Coffman just fought against former Colorado House Speaker Andrew Romanoff to keep his Aurora congressional seat, which has turned much more blue since Coffman won the seat as a conservative Republican six years ago. The race pushed him to left on numerous issues, including immigration. Coffman worked hard to learn Spanish, and he backed the DACA philosophy. He not only pushed back against GOP pressure to back today’s vote, he lashed out at fellow Republicans, calling out their short-sighted and mean-spirit folly.
He earned my appreciation, and his comments should show fellow Republicans that the way out of the Washington weeds depends on being practical, compassionate and acting like grown ups.
— Dave Perry, editor
Coffman’s Statement
Washington, DC – U.S. Representative Mike Coffman (R-CO) offered the following statement following his vote against the Blackburn Amendment which would have defunded the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and barred renewals in the program.
“The President’s executive actions are clearly unconstitutional and I strongly oppose his unilateral decisions on immigration but my party needs to stop just saying what we are against and start saying what we are for when it comes to fixing our broken immigration system,” said Coffman.
“Under the DACA amendment that passed, young people who were taken to this country as children, who grew up here, went to school here, and often know of no other country but the United States, would not be allowed to renew their status and would face deportation. We should have had an opportunity to pass a version of the DACA program into law. Moving forward, immigration reform should be about securing our borders, growing our economy and keeping families together and we need to do it all the constitutional way – through Congress.”
The AP story about the vote
House votes to undo Obama immigration policies
ERICA WERNER, Associated Press
WASHINGTON | The Republican U.S. House voted Wednesday to overturn President Barack Obama’s key immigration policies, approving legislation that would eliminate new deportation protections for millions and expose hundreds of thousands of younger immigrants to expulsion.
The 236-191 vote came on a broad bill that would provide nearly $40 billion to finance the Homeland Security Department through the rest of the budget year.
Democrats accused Republicans of playing politics with national security at a time of heightened threats, and Obama has threatened to veto the legislation. Prospects in the Senate look tough, too.
But House Republicans, in a determined assault on one of Obama’s top domestic priorities, accused him of reckless unconstitutional actions on immigration that must be stopped.
“This executive overreach is an affront to the rule of law and to the Constitution itself,” said House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio. “The people made clear that they wanted more accountability from this president, and by our votes here today we will heed their will and we will keep our oath to protect and defend the Constitution.”
But Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., accused Republicans of “viciousness” for trying to make it easier to deport immigrants brought to the U.S. as children. Rep. David Price, D-N.C., called the GOP effort “a political vendetta,” adding, “It’s a reprehensible, reckless tactic which will compromise, has already compromised, the full and effective functioning of our Homeland Security Department” at a time of heightened security risks.
The immigration measures were amendments on the Homeland Security bill.
One of them, approved 237-190, would undo executive actions that Obama announced in November to provide temporary deportation relief to some 4 million immigrants in the country illegally. A second amendment would delete Obama’s 2012 policy that’s granted work permits and stays of deportation to more than 600,000 immigrants who arrived in the U.S. illegally as children. That measure passed more narrowly, 218-209, as more than two dozen more moderate Republicans joined Democrats in opposition.
The changes Obama announced in November especially enraged the GOP because they came not long after Republicans swept the midterm elections, taking control of the Senate and increasing their majority in the House. Republicans pledged then to revisit the issue once Congress was fully under their control.
But even with Republicans in control of the Senate, the bill faces difficulty there, especially because House GOP leaders decided to satisfy demands from conservative members by including a vote to undo the 2012 policy that deals with younger immigrants known as “Dreamers.”
Republicans are six votes shy of the 60-vote majority needed to advance most legislation in the Senate, and even some Republicans in that chamber have expressed unease with the House GOP approach, especially given the importance of funding the Homeland Security Department in light of the Paris terrorist attacks.
Some House Republicans acknowledged that the Senate was likely to reject their approach, perhaps forcing them in the end to pass a Homeland Security funding bill stripped of controversial provisions on immigration.
“They’re not going to pass this bill,” said Rep. Charlie Dent, R-Pa.
Homeland Security money expires at the end of February so House leaders have left themselves several weeks to come up with an ultimate solution.
Immigrant advocates warned Republicans that Wednesday’s votes risked alienating Latino voters who will be crucial to the 2016 presidential election.
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Associated Press writers Alan Fram and Connie Cass contributed to this report.
So Dave, do you really believe Mike would have voted that way if his vote mattered? He makes the statement that Obama’s actions are clearly unconstitutional with on SCOTUS ruling to that effect. If it was so clear his right wing SCOTUS majority would have already taken a case and ruled. Has not happened. And its so funny how you and the electorate give Mike and the far right wing nuts a pass when they have done nothing to address any of the significant issues facing this country. and if someone does, they and the Media do this country a disservice with the pants on fire repetition of lies and distortions. Lies repeated a million times become the truth.
Have to agree. Mike Coffman is posturing. In ways I see Dave’s point but clearly Coffman knows the odds come 2016. Greater voter turnout and not all of them will be conservative repubs this time.
every vote matters (unless you count the electoral collage)
see legalization of canabis in Colorado which enjoyed a higher voter approval then Obama and Hick did in their last prospective Colorado campaigns….
Coffman is a political cameleon, changing colors in order to curry favor from voters who would never vote Republican under any scenario.
as his district has required him too be .?.
Thank You Dave, for knowing your community, and pointing out that Mike Coffman is aware of his position as a representative of the people. He objected to the political games and the viewed usurpation of executive power, but he let Hope and a brighter tomorrow for those in his community. He let something happen and bless him for that
Congressman Mike Coffman is an embarrassment to Colorado. Did anyone watch the debates? Coffman slurred his speech, did not answer questions and continually ended his garble referencing his military service. A pathetic performance and Colorado voters let him stay in office. Are voters paying attention? What the heck?
We all know that it’s all about importing poor people to program them into being democrat voters by giving them free stuff….NO MATTER WHAT THESE LIBERALS SAY. It’s the only way democrats have ever won by buying votes.