A CNN poll released today shows that the majority of Americans think it is more important that Congress avoids a federal government shutdown than it is to pass a bill protecting illegal aliens brought into the country as children. Those who currently receive protections under former President Barack Obama's executive order known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) are commonly known as "Dreamers."
According to CNN, 56% of Americans would rather the federal government stay open for business than Congress reach a compromise on DACA. "Still, 56% overall say approving a budget agreement to avoid a shutdown is more important than continuing the DACA program, while just 34% choose DACA over a shutdown. Democrats break narrowly in favor of DACA -- 49% say it's more important vs. 42% who say avoiding a shutdown is the priority -- while majorities of both Republicans (75%) and independents (57%) say avoiding a shutdown is more important."
While the majority of Americans say that passing a bill to protect "Dreamers" is not as important as funding the federal government, the program is still overwhelmingly supported. According to this same CNN Poll, "On its own, the DACA program remains broadly popular, with 84% saying they would like to see it continue, including 72% of Republicans, 82% of independents and a near-unanimous 96% of Democrats. Almost two-thirds (63%) say dealing with the program should be an extremely or very high priority for Congress, narrowly ahead of the 61% who say the same about passing a long-term funding bill to avoid future shutdowns."
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GOP leadership have scheduled a vote for 10:00 pm tonight in hopes an agreement can be met before the midnight deadline.
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