The Latest: GOP leaders want House vote on abolishing ICE
WASHINGTON — The Latest on congressional immigration proposals (all times local):
Republican leaders are moving toward having a House vote on liberal Democratic legislation to abolish the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.
The campaign-season vote would be aimed at embarrassing Democrats. Many Democrats consider the measure a miscalculation that could help Republicans paint Democratic candidates as extreme.
Washington state Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal is a sponsor and says its backers will vote "no." She says the measure is aimed at focusing attention on the issue, not actually eliminating the agency.
Liberal activists consider ICE a symbol of harsh immigration policies by President Donald Trump.
A GOP aide said No. 3 House Republican leader Steve Scalise got strong backing Thursday when he suggested having the vote.
— By Associated Press writer Alan Fram
Republicans on the House Appropriations Committee have batted down Democratic proposals that undercut the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" policy of prosecuting and detaining migrants caught entering the U.S.
One rejected Democratic plan would have blocked money for tent cities to house unaccompanied children.
But in a sign of Republican vulnerability on the issue of separating families at the border, the committee accepted other proposals. One would require a government plan for tracking and reuniting children separated from their families and imposing a $100,000-a-day fine if it doesn't produce one.
Republicans also approved their own plan to allow federal officials to hold children for more than 20 days when their parents face legal action for unauthorized entry to the U.S. Currently there is a court-imposed limit of 20 days.