Immigration promise could haunt Dems
Democrats have all but given up on comprehensive immigration reform and are now simply playing with people’s emotions.
That’s not only cruel.
It’s a political calculation that will likely hurt them at the polls in next year’s midterms, when Democrats will need Latinos as much as suburban women and Black voters to maintain power.
Joe Biden is president, thanks to Arizona Latino voters and Black voters in Georgia and other states that tilted the balance away from Donald Trump.
Biden promised an immigration reform to legalize millions of undocumented immigrants, a pledge that seemed certain with Democrats in control of Congress.
But that hasn’t happened because of the 50-50 Senate split and Democrats’ unwillingness to override the parliamentarian, who has refused to include immigration as part of the budget reconciliation bill.
Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough rejected legalizing essential workers, young immigrants brought to the country as children and those with temporary protected status.
Democrats then asked her to let them update the federal immigration registry to offer legalization to those who arrived in the U.S. before 2010. She rejected that , too.
Now Democrats are preparing to present her with “Plan C,” a downsized approach to offer work permits and deportation protection for immigrants who arrived in the country prior to 2011.
House Democrats on Wednesday added the immigration provisions to their social spending plan. The new proposal offers deportation protection for five years – with a five-year renewable work permit – to immigrants who pass a background check and pay a fee.
But the hurdle remains in the Senate, where the parliamentarian has to agree to keep immigration as part of Democrats’ spending plan that they hope to pass along party lines.
Plus, this is no immigration reform. It would just be a Band-Aid with no path to permanent legal status.
A better-than-nothing approach keeps immigrants on an emotional roller-coaster, and that won’t help get Latinos to the polls in droves — at least not for Democrats, anyway.
It’s becoming clear that Biden and Democrats are disavowing their promise of comprehensive immigration reform. Not overriding the Senate’s rules interpreter to get it done is a political calculation, which tells immigrants they aren’t worth the risk of alienating other segments of the population.
That might work in some parts of the country, but Democrats are likely to lose Latino voters in key states like Arizona where their voting power makes a huge difference.
Biden is president because of six swing states, including Arizona, Georgia and Wisconsin where he narrowly defeated Trump.
Biden took Arizona by just more than 10,000 votes. More than 70% of Latinos, or about 438,000, are estimated to have voted for him. So, do the math.
Their support for the Democratic ticket surely trickled down to other Arizona races, which helped Democrats win a U.S. Senate seat, as well as secretary of state and superintendent of public instruction posts.
Biden is not on the ballot next year, of course. But control of Congress, governorships and tons of other local races are at stake. In Arizona, Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly will face a tough reelection, and the governor’s seat is up for grabs.
Immigration doesn’t necessarily define the Latino electorate as much as jobs and education. But it is top of mind because too many Latinos know or have direct family connection to undocumented immigrants.
Plus, it all boils down to keeping a promise.
It’s human nature not to trust those who renege on a pledge or put you at the bottom of priority lists, which Democrats have done with immigration.
Breaking that promise, coupled with the fact that Democrats nationally and in Arizona aren’t necessarily tripping over each other to court Latinos, could prove disastrous for them.