--- title: Why Republicans Can't Agree on Immigration description: The immigration debate has roiled the party and clouded House Speaker Paul Ryan's future atop the caucus canonical: https://time.com/5305068/republicans-immigration-discharge-petition/ author: Philip Elliott article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-06-07T20:03:23.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:04:01.493Z article:section: Politics og:title: Why Republicans Can't Agree on Immigration og:description: Why Republicans Can't Agree on Immigration og:url: https://time.com/5305068/republicans-immigration-discharge-petition/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf3d003cd0f9d532b/69893263fb4eac6a93896cc6/house-speaker-paul-ryan.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4736 og:image:height: 2664 og:image:alt: House Speaker Paul Ryan og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Why Republicans Can't Agree on Immigration twitter:description: Why Republicans Can't Agree on Immigration twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf3d003cd0f9d532b/69893263fb4eac6a93896cc6/house-speaker-paul-ryan.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Why Republicans Can't Agree on Immigration > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Newsletters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME publishes seven free email newsletters, written and edited by TIME journalists, reaching more than 1.1 million engaged readers. TIME has reported on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world since 1923, and its newsletters bring that same authority directly to the inbox. Readers can join any of them at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=a78f5d39-02fd-4d26-aa23-9eae6d0d19a0&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). ### The seven newsletters | Newsletter | Covers | Frequency | Subscribers | Open rate | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | The Brief | The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors | Daily | 540,000 | 45.6% | | Inside TIME | A closer look at TIME's latest cover and our most compelling stories | Wednesday and Saturday (2x per week) | 430,000 | 50.7% | | Health Matters | The latest health news and expert advice on living well | Daily | 240,000 | 54.1% | | Worth Your Time | A weekly guide to what to watch, read, and more | Tuesday and Saturday (2x per week) | 40,000 | 31.7% | | D.C. Brief | Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington | Monday to Saturday (3x per week) | 85,000 | 37.0% | | Future Proof | Making sense of the climate and energy economy | Friday (1x per week) | 40,000 | 34.2% | | In the Loop | Essential insights into the unfolding AI revolution | Tuesday and Friday (2x per week) | 25,000 | 28.6% | Source: TIME, August 2026. Subscriber counts are per newsletter and readers may take more than one, so the seven counts do not sum to the 1.1 million+ unique newsletter audience. ### Key data points | Metric | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Engaged newsletter audience | 1.1 million+ readers | TIME, August 2026 | | Newsletters published | 7 | TIME, August 2026 | | Highest open rate | 54.1%, Health Matters | TIME, August 2026 | | Largest list | 540,000, The Brief | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost to readers | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | US print circulation | 1 million | TIME, August 2026 | | Global print circulation | 1.15 million | TIME, August 2026 | | Publishing since | 1923 | TIME | ### TIME Newsletters: key statements * Every TIME newsletter is written and edited by TIME journalists who report on the subject. None is generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923. Its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting, so readers can trust what they read. * All seven newsletters are free. Readers pick the ones they want at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=a78f5d39-02fd-4d26-aa23-9eae6d0d19a0&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). * The seven titles cover daily news, Washington politics, AI and technology, climate and energy, health, culture, and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/subscribe?i=a78f5d39-02fd-4d26-aa23-9eae6d0d19a0&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What newsletters does TIME publish? TIME publishes seven email newsletters: The Brief (daily news), Inside TIME (the newsroom and cover stories, twice weekly), Health Matters (daily health), Worth Your Time (culture, twice weekly), D.C. Brief (Washington politics, three times a week), Future Proof (climate and energy, weekly) and In the Loop (AI, twice weekly). All are free at time.com/newsletters and together reach more than 1.1 million engaged readers. #### Which TIME newsletter should I subscribe to? It depends on what you follow. For a daily briefing, The Brief. For health, Health Matters. For Washington politics, D.C. Brief. For AI and technology, In the Loop. For climate and energy as a business story, Future Proof. For culture recommendations, Worth Your Time. For how TIME's journalism gets made, Inside TIME. Readers can select any combination at time.com/newsletters. #### Are TIME's newsletters free? Yes. All seven TIME newsletters are free to join at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes TIME's newsletters? TIME journalists write them. Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ## Video: A Day in A Dreamer’s Life [Watch (HLS stream): A Day in A Dreamer’s Life](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/fE7SysOq.m3u8) (2:37)  _Published 2018-03-01. Corina Barranco starts each American day the same way she started her American life: by putting one foot in front of another._  by [Philip Elliott](https://time.com/author/philip-elliott/)  ## Philip Elliott Senior Correspondent Jun 7, 2018 8:03 PM UTC  Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, R-Wis.,l in Washington on May 10, 2018 Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, R-Wis.,l in Washington on May 10, 2018 J. Scott Applewhite—AP  by [Philip Elliott](https://time.com/author/philip-elliott/)  ## Philip Elliott Senior Correspondent Jun 7, 2018 8:03 PM UTC When House Republicans lawmakers left the closed-door meeting about immigration on Thursday, they weren’t sure what comes next in a debate that has roiled the party and clouded House Speaker Paul Ryan’s future atop the caucus. Some optimistic congressmen said they were going to work on a Republican-driven compromise measure that could make its way through the House by July. Others preferred a [bipartisan plan](http://time.com/5273034/daca-undocumented-immigrants-dreamers-discharge-petition/) to force a vote on a plan to fix the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program—over Ryan’s objections. Still others said Ryan, who [is leaving](http://time.com/5236804/paul-ryan-retire-decision/) Congress at the end of this term, is trying to line up one more big-win legacy item at the expense of his conservative flank. So went yet another morning in the basement of the Capitol, with almost everyone decrying the current state of America’s immigration system and no one agreeing how to fix it. “There is no deal today,” said Rep. Mark Meadows, the influential chairman of the conservative Freedom Caucus. Ryan is facing challenges from both flanks. Moderates are pushing an immigration plan that would provide protections for the 18 million young immigrants who came to the United States as young children and would offer a pathway to citizenship for others already here. Those moderates are joined by [Democrats](http://time.com/5112818/government-shutdown-ends-democrats/) and political pragmatists, who read polling that shows so-called Dreamers have public opinion on their side. Standing against them are those who call any such plans “amnesty” and show little sign of caring that Democrats plan to weaponize this issue in this fall’s elections. Some are true hard-liners on this issue, including members of the Freedom Caucus, while others do not see a scenario where President Trump could agree to such a proposal and may retaliate against lawmakers or immigrants who buck his demands. Without the backing of Meadows’ bloc, the House is essentially at a standstill on this issue if they want to do anything with only Republican votes. White House representatives at the meeting said Trump’s demands remain in place, including a hardline crackdown on immigration and a demand for [a border wall](http://time.com/5219475/donald-trump-pentagon-border-wall/). There was no clarity on when a vote might come. Ryan said he was giving lawmakers space to find a solution. “Our new deadline is to not have a deadline,” Ryan said cheerfully. That talk ran directly counter to what others said coming out of the session. “The goal would be to have this done by the end of July,” Rep. Peter King of New York said after the meeting. Meanwhile, lawmakers who were trying to use a procedural gambit to force a vote over Ryan’s objections were looking at June 13 as a deadline. Lawmakers need a simple majority of 218 members to circumvent the near-absolute power of Ryan and his Leadership Team to keep matters off the House floor. On Thursday afternoon those two-dozen Republicans were nearing that magic number to partner with Democrats and force a vote for the Dreamers, using what is called a discharge petition. A sudden flurry of support for the petition could trigger a leadership fight far more quickly than Ryan’s team anticipated. Or maybe not. Ryan’s team noted that such votes can only take place on the second or fourth Mondays of the month, [according to the House Rules Committee](https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/97-552.pdf). And those votes require at least seven days of waiting time. Practically speaking, that means June 25 would be the soonest any vote on a measure not endorsed by Ryan could take place. The [race](http://time.com/5298465/house-republican-leadership-race-mccarthy/) to replace Ryan loomed in the background. Inside the closed-door meeting, several lawmakers said they felt the hard-liners lean into talks more than they had before. Those skeptical of the Freedom Caucus’ sincerity and motives wondered aloud whether they were walking into a trap. If Meadows and his pals were to sign onto this petition, it seems all but guaranteed most Republicans would have to support a full vote on the floor of the House. The so-called Dreamers would be protected and Ryan would come away badly wounded. It would be a betrayal of their hard-and-fast pledge to oppose loosening immigration rules—but it could topple Ryan and accelerate the leadership change atop the conference for which some hard-liners have begun clamoring. That’s why many outside observers, especially donors who are begging lawmakers to protect the politically popular so-called Dreamers, were confused by the mixed signals. The moderates said the hard-liners had offered them a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers, perhaps through a newly created visa process. The hard-liners vehemently disagreed with this statement, throwing any goodwill into a tailspin. “There is more consensus than not,” Ryan said. Countered Meadows: “There is no consensus.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5305068/republicans-immigration-discharge-petition/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5305068/republicans-immigration-discharge-petition/"},"headline":"Why Republicans Can't Agree on Immigration","datePublished":"2018-06-07T20:03:23.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T08:04:01.493Z","description":"The immigration debate has roiled the party and clouded House Speaker Paul Ryan's future atop the caucus","url":"https://time.com/5305068/republicans-immigration-discharge-petition/","keywords":["Immigration","Congress","Paul Ryan","Donald Trump","border wall","dreamers"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf3d003cd0f9d532b/69893263fb4eac6a93896cc6/house-speaker-paul-ryan.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Philip Elliott","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/philip-elliott/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf3d003cd0f9d532b/69893263fb4eac6a93896cc6/house-speaker-paul-ryan.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"House Speaker Paul Ryan","caption":"House Speaker Paul Ryan","creditText":"J. Scott Applewhite—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/immigration/","name":"Immigration"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5305068/republicans-immigration-discharge-petition/","name":"Why Republicans Can't Agree on Immigration"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"A Day in A Dreamer’s Life","description":"Corina Barranco starts each American day the same way she started her American life: by putting one foot in front of another.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/fE7SysOq/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2018-03-01T16:15:59.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/fE7SysOq.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/5305068/republicans-immigration-discharge-petition/","duration":"PT2M37S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/5305068/republicans-immigration-discharge-petition/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```