Comment on Big decisions about immigration await Congress

WASHINGTON – Before a potential government shutdown at midnight Friday night, a host of leftover Washington business is bottled up in Congress, waiting on a deal to prevent the deportation of young immigrants brought to the country illegally as children and an agreement on other immigration-related issues, including President Donald Trump’s long-sought U.S.-Mexico border wall. Lawmakers in both major parties are confronted with a consequential week that includes shutdown brinksmanship linked to politically freighted negotiations over immigration. House Republican leaders scheduled a Tuesday evening meeting to discuss options with the GOP rank and file to avert a shutdown at midnight Friday. Meanwhile, there are increasingly urgent deadlines for disaster aid and renewal of the popular Children’s Health Insurance Program. A governmentwide spending deal, billions of dollars in help for hurricane-slammed Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico, and health care financing for 9 million children from low-income families have been on hold for weeks, caught first in a crossfire over taxes and now held up in a standoff on immigration. Lawmakers are angry that their pet priorities are stuck and are getting fed up.