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Balance of Power: What can Congress get done?

January 25, 2015

Ken Buck said he thinks it's "absolutely essential" that Congress pass a guest worker program this year, but that it needs to be accompanied by enhanced screening at the border.

Polis said Republicans aren't showing compassion to the immigrant community.

"The very first action taken by this new Republican Congress with regard to immigration was to effectively de-fund and deport the DREAMers and their parents," Polis said. "That's not what I call immigration reform. That's a de-form of immigration."

Buck laid the responsibility for sluggish action at the White House steps, arguing that the Obama administration went around the law through its deferred action program, which grants legal status to people in the country illegally since childhood.

"The immigration issue is every bit as much a problem from the executive branch as it is from the legislative branch," Buck said.

Polis countered that the president is lawfully using his discretion to prioritize who federal agents focus on deporting.

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