Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Schuylerville (Photo — Adam Colver, Post-Star)

U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik has consistently laid responsibility for immigration issues — from family separation to Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals — on Congress, repeatedly accusing them of “punting” on reform.

On Wednesday, the House drop kicked the immigration issue once more, failing to pass the Border Security and Immigration Reform Act that the congressswoman supported.

“I was certainly disappointed on the vote yesterday,” Stefanik said in a phone interview Thursday.

Stefanik has been outspoken in the past week on her opposition to the family separations that resulted from President Donald Trump implementing a “zero tolerance” policy, arresting, detaining prosecuting anyone accused of crossing the U.S. border without authorization. Migrants who crossed into the country with children who were separated, as the Flores settlement, a legally binding 1997 consent decree, prevents children from being held in immigration detention for more than a few days.

“Congresswoman Stefanik believes the situation of separated minors is an appalling result of our country’s broken immigration system,” Stefanik’s office wrote in an email to the Times last week. “Our broken immigration system is the fault of both parties.”

Stefanik Thursday reiterated that she saw the policy of family separation as being the responsibility of the legislature, while acknowledging the choice to enforce a zero tolerance policy was made by the White House.

“I disagree with the administration’s approach and how they handled it,” she said. Ultimately, though, “I think this particular [situation] is a failure of Congress to act.”

Stefanik has co-sponsored the Family Reunification Act, which directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to reunify families separated by the policy at “the earliest possible date.” The zero tolerance policy has not been revoked, however, causing a possible tension between unifying detained families and the Flores settlement. Resolving this tension by circumventing the Flores settlement is the job of Congress, according to Stefanik.

“We want to make sure we update the law … so there are family detention centers,” she said.

These facilities, run by the Department of Homeland Security, would allow families to remain together while parent’s cases are processed in courts.

The family separation policy would have been at least partially addressed in the failed Border Security and Immigration Reform Act, which was introduced by the House leadership as a more moderate alternative to the Securing America’s Future Act of 2018, introduced by the hard-right Freedom Caucus and voted down last week.

Stefanik voted for the compromise bill and said in a release that “the vote failed because a small group of Republicans partnered with Democrats to take down the bill.”

Almost as many House Republicans voted against the bill as voted for it, 112-121 — indeed, it gained considerably fewer votes than the Freedom Caucus bill.

“Unfortunately my experience has been many members were never going to get to yes,” Stefanik said. “The majority of Republicans in Congress voted for that bill.”

Asked why the theoretically moderate bill could not gather enough Republican support, and no Democratic support, to pass, Stefanik demurred.

“Everyone controls their own vote card,” she said.

Stefanik highlighted the elements of the bill she supported — it included $25 billion for comprehensive border security, including possibly a border wall, and six year renewable visas for DACA recipients and a path to citizenship, as well as family reunification.

According to the Washington Post, it may have been this path to citizenship for DACA immigrants that deterred more right wing Republicans from supporting it. It did not manage to pick up any Democratic votes, either, with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi labeling it “anti-family” and “a failed bill of staggering cruelty” in a statement.

Stefanik was an early supporter of a discharge petition that would have forced a vote on four immigration bills, including one she co-sponsored, the bipartisan Hurd-Aguilar bill. The petition fell two signatures short of passing, but may have helped force House Speaker Paul Ryan to hold a vote on the Freedom Caucus and compromise bills.

Stefanik said she did not know why the Ryan did not submit the Hurd-Aguilar bill instead of its own, hastily written compromise bill.

“I focus on my district, but I think the leadership was focused on passing the bill with Republican support,” Stefanik said.

Both Will Hurd, R-Texas. and Pete Aguilar, D-Calif. voted against the compromise legislation.

Stefanik said that the next step would be to pass standalone legislation on family reunification, and possibly agricultural worker visas later this summer.

“I do think one of the issues that’s very important for a district like mine is agricultural workers,” she said.