Budget package includes plan for pathway to citizenship, green cards for millions
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Democrats' $3.5 trillion budget resolution package instructs lawmakers to chart a pathway to citizenship for millions of people while investing in border security.
The bill text unveiled Monday includes some $107 billion for the Senate Judiciary Committee to spend on each, giving lawmakers a soft deadline of Sept. 15.
The package does not specify how many people or which groups would be covered by the legislation, instead directing the committee to provide "lawful permanent status for qualified immigrants." A summary of the bill also states it will provide green cards "to millions of immigrant workers and families."
House Democrats have floated a plan that would cover not only Dreamers brought to the U.S. as children but also migrant farmworkers, workers deemed essential during the pandemic and those who already hold Temporary Protected Status after being unable to return to their countries.
In all, Democrats could make around 10 million people eligible for a path to citizenship — just shy of the 11 million people who would be affected by a bill from Biden that has stalled in Congress.
The inclusion of immigration in the budget reconciliation package comes shortly after President BidenJoe BidenBiden pushing to support Florida schools amid DeSantis mask disputeCuomo resigns after inquiry finds he harassed womenGOP governors divided over response to COVID-19 surgeMORE last month forcefully backed the idea.
"I think we should include in the reconciliation bill the immigration proposal," Biden told reporters following a meeting with Congressional Hispanic Caucus legislators and others who have worked on immigration reform.
Senate Judiciary members, however, have thus far made little progress when it comes to immigration.
A proposal from GOP Sens. John Cornyn (Texas) and Thom Tillis (N.C.) encouraged Democrats to seek a pathway to citizenship only for those Dreamers already enrolled in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. It's an offer that would benefit fewer than 700,000 people and excludes potential DACA recipients who were unable to access the program during the Trump administration — a number the Migration Policy Institute estimates is as high as 1.3 million additional people.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) slammed the exclusion of the broader population, writing later that “seeking to compel the deportation of hundreds of thousands of DACA recipients who are helping our nation’s economy recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic makes little sense.”
How many people know what is in the 2,700 pages of this bill?
Government by omnibus massive spending, massive debt, massive expansion of the welfare state is tyranny. This isn't a representative Republic anymore. Do you want to call your congressman and ask questions about this bill? What are you going to ask, since it wasn't realeased to you? We had 19 Republican Senators supporting it even before the democrat's staff had finished writing it. The Congessional Budget Office said that there is a quarter of a trillion dollars in the bill that is not paid for. The 19 Republicans who think they did something for "We the people," have done nothing more than debase our currency and our economy. Only 23% of this bill was for hard infrastructure. The worst part is that this bill is a precursor to the enormous green new deal bill which will follow.
Hopefully the House Democrats are serious about blocking this bill if they don't get an additional even more massive reconciliation infra structure bill from the Senate. This is the only time I am going to side with AOC and the squad. Obstruct and block away ladies. No way in hell do you get an even more destructive spending bill from the Senate.
Senate Republicans need to do everything in their power to stop the reconciliation bill; including heading home and leaving the Senate w/o enough members to gain a quorum. The Texas Democrats have set the precedent. Time to again throw it in their faces.
Wouldn't that be something? If the radicals took it all down because they couldn't get a guarantee for the passage of their massive green new deal!
Senate Republicans need to do everything in their power to stop the reconciliation bill; including heading home and leaving the Senate w/o enough members to gain a quorum. The Texas Democrats have set the precedent. Time to again throw it in their faces.
I'm all for it. Democrats have no mandate for Socialism.
I hate to be the bearer of bad tidings, but the dems just passed the gargantuan second bill with a ridiculous 50 votes in what sadly passes for the US Senate.
Who cares what Dick Johnson has to say?
Another dumbshit gop'er