Jeff Sessions pushes for a Senate vote to end DACA

The House has already voted and approved legislation to prohibit President Barack Obama from renewing or expanding deportation relief to undocumented immigrants, and now Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) wants the Senate to vote on that legislation.

He is expected to bring up the House-approved legislation on Thursday as part of a motion that, if approved, would allow debate and a vote on the legislation. The vote is slated to come right before the Senate votes on bill the House approved Wednesday to keep the government funded through Dec. 11 and allow Obama to arm and train rebels in Syria.

SEE ALSO: House approves bill to end DACA

The legislation that Session is pushing for and that the House approved in August is meant to prevent Obama from extending the same benefits offered to undocumented youth through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program to more undocumented immigrants. Those benefits include work permits and social security numbers. It is also meant to prohibit the current beneficiaries of the DACA program from renewing their status in the program, essentially ending the federal program.

Speaking on the Senate floor Wednesday, Sessions announced his plans to bring up the legislation for a vote in the Senate. He said this comes at a time when Obama is getting ready to issue “executive amnesty” to millions of undocumented immigrants after the midterm elections.

“This is the time. It’s either stopped now or it may never be stopped,” Sessions said on the Senate floor. “And we need to vote on it, and people need to be held accountable. And every American needs to know where their senator stands on the president’s unlawful assumption of power to violate plain law of the United States, to carry out a political agenda that he has that the American people reject.”

SEE ALSO: Dreamers confront Sen. Marco Rubio over his support to end DACA

The Republican from Alabama also criticized Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid for refusing to bring the House-approved legislation to the Senate floor for a vote. He called for a vote on it so constituents can see where senators stand on the issue. Among the Republicans supporting Sessions’ effort is Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who has also called for an end to DACA.

The Democratic-controlled Senate will likely reject Sessions’ effort.