Five House Republicans are backing a discharge petition that could force a vote on immigration measures - including protections for Dreamers - if backed by a majority of lawmakers, according to reports.
The petition needs 25 more Republicans to sign on in order to forcibly discharge immigration legislation out of committee and onto the House floor for a vote, The Hill reports.
Republican Congressman Carlos Curbelo filed the petition and was quickly joined by GOP Reps. Jeff Denham, Will Hurd, Mario Diaz-Balart and David Valadao, Vox reports.
If successful, the tactic would force a "Queen of the Hill" vote on the competing pieces of immigration legislation; the one that tallies the most votes is the legislation that would be approved by the House, sending it to the Senate.
The competing immigration bills:
- Rep. Bob Goodlatte's bill backed by the Freedom Caucus that would fund President Donald Trump's wall and restrict legal immigration in exchange for temporary protections for DACA recipients.
- The DREAM Act: Expand the pool (DACA + Dreamers) and offer permanent citizenship to 1.8 million illegal immigrants.
- The USA Act: Marries the Dream Act with $25 billion in border security funding but no wall.
- A TBD proposal of Speaker Paul Ryan's choosing.
Ryan has stuck to his pledge of not bringing a floor vote on any immigration measure that does not have the support of at least half of House Republicans.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.