February 20, 2018 09:57 PM UTC

Coffman backtracks on support for "unrealistic" Dream Act

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• by: Jason Salzman

(Promoted by Colorado Pols)

During a raucous town hall meeting Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman (R-Aurora) backed off a pledge of support for the Dream Act, which he co-sponsored just last year.

Asked by an audience member if he supports a “clean Dream Act,” which would grant a path to citizenship to undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children, Coffman hedged, saying “it’s not realistic.”

“You know, it’s not realistic, because the President would never sign it,” he answered. “If I thought it would be signed into law, I would.”

Coffman co-sponsored a bipartisan Dream Act last year, along with 200 other Congressman, and it’s not clear why the Dream Act is any less realistic today than it was last year.

Furthermore, Coffman, whose office does not return calls for comment, has voted numerous times for legislation that had no realistic chance to become law.

For example, when Obama was president, Coffman voted repeatedly to repeal Obamacare, even though the chances of Obama signing legislation to repeal Obamacare were extremely low to nonexistent.

As multiple media outlets, including Reuters below, reported last year:

In the past few years, the House has voted more than 60 times to repeal or alter Obamacare, but Republicans had no hope a repeal would become law as long as Obama was president and could veto their bills.

Also while Obama was in office, Coffman voted five times to defund Planned Parenthood. Not only was it unrealistic for Obama to sign a bill with such a provision, but the odds of an anti-Planned Parenthood measure clearing the U.S. Senate at the time were objectively low.

During the Obama presidency, numerous other bills were passed by House Republicans, including Coffman, that had no realistic chance to become law.

Watch Coffman explain why he won’t support the Dream Act at a town hall Feb. 20: