Immigration reform gets harder
Procedural ruling might narrow Democrats’ goals
WASHINGTON – Senate Democrats launched an uphill fight to rescue their drive to help millions of immigrants remain legally in the U.S., their pathway unclear and the uncertainty exposing tensions between party leaders and progressive groups demanding bold results.
Lawmakers and advocacy organizations said Monday they were already weighing fresh options, a day after the Senate parliamentarian said their sweeping proposal must fall from a $3.5 trillion measure that’s shielded against bill-killing Republican filibusters. But it seemed strongly likely that Democrats might have to winnow their measure to help fewer than the 8 million immigrants they envisioned, and even then face daunting prospects to prevail.
The ruling by the nonpartisan parliamentarian, Elizabeth Macdonough, was a jarring blow because without the procedural protections, Democrats in the 50-50 Senate lack the 60 votes required to end those GOP delays and approve immigration legislation.
“It saddened me, it frustrated me, it angered me,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., told reporters about Macdonough’s ruling. “But make no mistake, the fight continues.”
Democrats and outside groups said their potential options included narrowing the number of people affected or the degree of legal protection they would receive, or tinkering with dates in existing laws that have controlled how many immigrants already here can stay.
Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., a leading pro-immigration advocate, said his party was considering a legalization effort “in a different context” from the filibuster-protected bill. He also said Democrats might pursue a type of status that “does not necessarily provide a pathway to legalization.” He provided no detail for either remark.
No Democrats said they were ready to give up, underscoring how their decadeslong push to provide legal status to immigrants is so important to many party voters that politicians don’t dare to appear to abandon it.
“This really doesn’t mean that this process is over,” Menendez said. He said Democrats would explore “every option available” and keep working with Macdonough “until we get to a yes” from her.
Democrats’ rejected provisions would open multiyear doorways to legal permanent residence, and perhaps citizenship, for young immigrants brought
illegally to the country as children, often called “Dreamers.” It would also cover immigrants with Temporary Protected Status who’ve fled countries stricken by natural disasters or extreme violence, essential workers and farm workers.
Under special budget rules Democrats are using to protect their 10-year, $3.5 trillion bill, provisions cannot be included if their budget impact is outweighed by the magnitude of the policies they would impose.
Macdonough left no doubt about her view, writing in a memo to lawmakers that Democrats’ plan to grant permanent residence to immigrants “is tremendous and enduring policy change that dwarfs its budgetary impact.”
Doris Meissner, who led the Immigration and Naturalization Service under President Bill Clinton, said Macdonough’s opinion seemed to leave little room for Democrats to include major immigration provisions in the bill, which funds dramatic changes in social safety net and environment programs.
“It seems to me that this is just really an effort to be able to say politically that they’ve tried everything that they can try,” Meissner, now a senior fellow at the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute, said of Democrats’ vows to plow ahead.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said President Joe Biden remains “absolutely committed to putting in place a pathway to citizenship” and supports senators offering alternatives but cautioned, “We don’t control the outcome of the parliamentarian process.”
Some progressives have complained that with Democrats controlling the White House, Senate and House this year, the party must push ever harder for its policy goals. Pragmatists have responded that despite Democratic control of both branches of government, their clout is tenuous because margins in Congress are wafer thin – an evenly divided Senate and a House where Democrats can win only if they lose three votes or fewer.