Sign up for our daily briefing
Make your busy days simpler with Axios AM/PM. Catch up on what's new and why it matters in just 5 minutes.
Stay on top of the latest market trends
Subscribe to Axios Markets for the latest market trends and economic insights. Sign up for free.
Sports news worthy of your time
Binge on the stats and stories that drive the sports world with Axios Sports. Sign up for free.
Tech news worthy of your time
Get our smart take on technology from the Valley and D.C. with Axios Login. Sign up for free.
Get the inside stories
Get an insider's guide to the new White House with Axios Sneak Peek. Sign up for free.
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Want a daily digest of the top Denver news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Denver
Want a daily digest of the top Des Moines news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Des Moines
Want a daily digest of the top Twin Cities news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Twin Cities
Want a daily digest of the top Tampa Bay news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Tampa Bay
Want a daily digest of the top Charlotte news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Charlotte
Yurexi Quinones, 24, of Manassas, Va., a college student who is studying social work and a recipient of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, known as DACA, rallies in support of DACA outside of the White House. Photo: Jacquelyn Martin / AP
Some of the biggest names in corporate America this week will launch an expensive lobbying campaign for fast action to protect "Dreamers," undocumented immigrants who came here as children.
But I checked around on Capitol Hill and found that both the House and the Senate plan to stick to tax reform for now.
- What's new: The Coalition for the American Dream, rolling out midweek with an ad in the Wall Street Journal, includes a much broader swath of corporations than ever came together for comprehensive immigration reform: Microsoft, IBM, Facebook, Google, Apple, Cisco, Intel, Uber, Lyft, Airbnb, Spotify, Under Armour, Chobani, Marriott, Hilton, Ikea, Best Buy and more.
- Why it matters: These corporations — along with trade associations and advocacy groups, including FWD.us — plan to focus completely on Republican lawmakers, with this message: "Our mission is to seek the passage of the bipartisan Dream Act or similar legislation that gives Dreamers the permanent solution they deserve in the calendar year 2017."
Although Speaker Paul Ryan has told "Dreamers" they can "rest easy," leadership aides poured cold water on the speedy timeline envisioned by the corporations:
- A House aide: "[A]nything that is perceived as complicating tax reform is not going to go over well."
- A second House aide: "[T]here is bandwidth but ... the will for an immigration deal hinges — as always — on border security. If Dems can wrap their heads around that sooner than later, the more real it becomes."
- A Senate aide: "Would be an enormous lift before the end of the year — unless Dems were to agree to a real border security package."
Be smart: This outlook is fresh evidence that even when a lot of powerful people agree something should be done in Washington, that doesn't mean it will be.
- Despite the companies' desire for action this year, the DACA protections don't expire till March 5. And when Congress has time, it generally will take it.