Politics

DACA Recipient: Democrats Failed To Protect Me [VIDEO]

Amber Athey Podcast Columnist
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Juan Escalante, an illegal immigrant and DACA-recipient, said on CNN Monday that he feels the Democrats have failed him by agreeing to end the government shutdown.

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Senate Republicans and Democrats reached an agreement two days after the government shutdown that would give the Senate the votes to pass a short-term spending bill. However, Democrats–who voted to shut down the government in the first place–received little in exchange for voting to reopen the government. (RELATED: Senate Reaches Deal On Short-Term Spending Bill To Re-Open Government)

In a CNN interview Monday afternoon, anchor Jake Tapper asked Escalante if he felt that the Democrats had failed him and other DACA-recipients.
“Simply put, you think Democrats failed today to protect you and your fellow DREAMers,” Tapper said.
“I think so,” Escalante replied. “I think that they had a really strong negotiating position in which they could carve out a deal that essentially protected as much of the immigrant population–specifically the DREAMers.”
“Unfortunately what’s going to happen now is the Senate may actually have a timetable to deal with this issue, but what about the House?” he asked. “What has Speaker Ryan promised and what is going to happen in that scenario?”
“More importantly, what ultimately is the president going to do?” Escalante concluded.

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