Trump officials didn't invite the Hispanic Caucus chair to DACA talks, so she crashed the meeting [View all]

[babylonsister]

Brava!

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/1/10/1731551/-Trump-officials-didn-t-invite-the-Hispanic-Caucus-chair-to-DACA-talks-so-she-crashed-the-meeting

Trump officials didn't invite the Hispanic Caucus chair to DACA talks, so she crashed the meeting
By Gabe Ortiz
Wednesday Jan 10, 2018 · 1:37 PM EST


It’s simple: when the White House is negotiating the fate of 800,000 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients and their families, the chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus needs to be among the voices at the table. But as the White House continued inviting other legislators to immigration talks this week, Trump officials also claimed that there was a “space issue” that prevented them from inviting Congresswoman Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico, the caucus’ leader. Undeterred, she made space:

Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham, leader of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, successfully crashed Tuesday’s bipartisan immigration meeting with President Donald Trump, forcing her way in after White House officials refused to invite her.

Lujan Grisham rode with House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), who was invited to the 11:30 a.m. meeting, with hopes that the White House wouldn't be able to deny her face-to-face, according to two sources with knowledge of the plan. Her idea worked, as she was later caught by TV cameras sitting at the oblong table with roughly two dozen other lawmakers for the lengthy confab.

It’s only speculation, but there’s plenty of reason to believe that this was more than an accidental snub. Members of the CHC have been among the most vocal when it comes to the administration’s attacks, and have pledged to withhold votes on the spending bill this month unless the DREAM Act is included. “For me, the most important thing to reiterate to the president and the White House was that we don’t have time on our side,” Lujan Grisham later told the Albuquerque Journal. “We don’t have until March. We need to do this right now.”

More from her statement:

“I was obligated to attend today’s White House meeting so that my constituents and the millions of people that the Congressional Hispanic Caucus represents had a seat at the table as we work to enact a permanent legislative fix for Dreamers by January 19th. I am encouraged that the President assured me and the bipartisan, bicameral group of lawmakers in attendance that he was also committed to that goal. This is a crisis with lives on the line. Each day Congress delays productive, meaningful negotiations, 122 Dreamers on average lose their DACA protection and live under the very real fear of detention and deportation. I am committed to working in good faith with my colleagues on both of sides of the aisle to resolve this and many other critical issues that Congress has kicked down the road for too long.”

In the words of the legendary Shirley Chisholm, “if they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.” Thanks for your leadership, congresswoman.