Ahead of President Trump's action on DACA -- Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals -- Congressman Mike Coffman is preparing to take the House floor.
"I'm pretty sure it's going to happen," said Coffman about President Trump ending DACA, the Executive Order signed by President Obama that protects immigrants brought to the United States when they were children.
Coffman anticipates that Trump will end DACA, with the expectation that Congress will come to a permanent solution that he can sign into law.
Quite possibly a law that is currently a bill he has previously introduced. The Bridge Act would be a three-year DACA extension.
If the President ends DACA, Coffman will go on the House floor Tuesday afternoon with a "Discharge Petition," to force a vote on his bill.
To do so, he needs 218 signatures on the petition; all 194 Democrats and 24 Republicans. He said an informal rule known as the "Hastert Rule" requires a guarantee that the majority of Republicans support a bill before leadership will put it to a vote.
He said this may not appeal to Republicans in deep red districts.
"This district, there'll be Republicans who are angry at me, but by and large, it's a big -- for these immigrant communities here, particularly for the Hispanic community -- it's a big deal."
"If this gets punted back to Congress and Congress fails, is that on the President or is that on Republicans in Congress?" asked Next reporter Marshall Zelinger.
"I'm afraid it'd be on Republicans in Congress. The fundamental issue is that we have Constitutional case law that says that the President cannot alone make immigration law without the Congress," said Coffman.
He said he does not blame the President for likely putting the decision back on Congress.
"No, I really don't. The fact is, the President, he's in an impossible situation. I think he'd prefer to leave it alone until we get to immigration reform," said Coffman.
