Pelosi: Put immig reform in budget bill
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wants immigration reform measures included in the $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation bill.
During a Friday press conference with Democratic House leadership, Pelosi (D-Calif.) supported the move, saying her colleagues have a “very good case.”
“I do believe that immigration should be in the reconciliation, some piece of that, in the reconciliation,” she said. “We know we have a very good case for this to be included.”
Pelosi’s comments come one day after President Biden made similar comments.
“I think we should include in the reconciliation bill the immigration proposal,” Biden told reporters outside the White House on Thursday.
Biden had earlier in the day met with Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman and Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Senate Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Bob Menendez (D-NJ), two of the leaders on the Senate side for immigration reform, as well as Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-NM). Together, the group discussed including in the budget a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers, people originally promised such under the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), House Hispanic Caucus Chairman Raul Ruiz (D-Calif.) and fellow California Democratic Reps. Linda Sánchez, Zoe Lofgren, Pete Aguilar and Lucille Roybal-Allard were also in the meeting on behalf of the lower house of Congress.
Durbin emphasized Biden’s support following the meeting.
“He knows the challenges we face. He’s with us. He made it clear to us, unequivocally clear that he stands with our efforts,” he said.
Democrats in the Senate are looking to pass the reconciliation budget before the August recess, starting Aug 9. They will need all their members to vote in favor, as the Senate is split 50-50. Vice President Kamala Harris, as Senate president, has a tie-breaking vote.
“Reconciliation is the only option,” Nadler told reporters, stressing the urgency of getting the matter passed by whatever means necessary — in this case, without any Republican support.
In a statement, Cortez Masto offered some details of what items Democrats could choose to include in the $3.5 trillion package, such as a pathway to citizenship for farmworkers, essential workers and those who already hold Temporary Protected Status.
“For decades, politicians have refused to act to fix our broken immigration system, and this is our opportunity to ensure we are treating workers and families with dignity,” she said. “A reconciliation bill that balances border security with a path to citizenship for Dreamers, TPS holders, farm and essential workers will create jobs, boost our economy, and lift up working families across . . . the nation.”
Democrats and immigrant advocates have felt a newfound urgency to address the legal status of Dreamers after a federal judge in Texas ruled earlier this month that the program was unlawful.