Mike Lee says immigration bill should be narrowly focused to ensure easy passage

Sen. Mike Lee said Wednesday that the immigration bill should include a narrow field of demands in order to pass it quickly and easily.

Mr. Lee, Utah Republican, recalled the so-called “Gang of Eight” bill in 2013, the last major attempt at immigration reform, that failed, he said, because it became to big.

“The more that bill was laden down with more provisions, the less narrow it became, the more impossible it became to pass,” Mr. Lee said on “The Hugh Hewitt Show.”

He said that the bill facing Congress now needs to include protections for Dreamers — children brought into the U.S. illegally — as well as border security measures to ensure President Trump will support it.

Lawmakers are trying to pass something on immigration, particularly on the  Dreamer issue, prior to Feb. 8 when the next spending bill expires. Democrats initially refused to support any spending bill until protections for this group were in place.

Mr. Lee was one of the two Republican senators not to support the continuing resolution that ended the government shutdown. He, along with Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, said they would not support any more short-term spending bills.

He said he did not regret his decision because he knew the shutdown would end quickly, and that nobody’s pay would be affected.

“They did continue to get paid. We all knew that within a matter of days, perhaps hours, the shutdown would be resolved,” he said.

Mr. Lee emphasized that he wants to see a longterm budget for the entire fiscal year and that these short-term continuing resolutions are also bad for the military and other government service agencies.