Border state Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and a dozen other primarily Democratic senators are pushing the Republican-controlled Senate to include them in their work addressing the border and immigration matters.
Kelly led 12 of his colleagues in a letter to Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) on Wednesday morning that pleaded with the GOP to work on a bipartisan basis rather than ramming through the party’s plans on its own.
“Democrats and Republicans can work together on real bipartisan solutions,” the senators wrote in the letter. “We can solve big challenges when we work together, and there is much work to do to improve border security, protect Dreamers and farm workers, and fix our immigration system to better reflect the needs of our country and our modern economy.”
Republicans in the House and Senate recently worked on a bipartisan basis to pass the Laken Riley Act, which would allow federal law enforcement to arrest illegal immigrants who have been charged with theft.
President Donald Trump’s campaign focused heavily on ending the border crisis that hit record highs under then-President Joe Biden.
The 2024 election, Trump has said, was a mandate on Biden’s “open border,” and Republicans have cited it as a reason to move forward with conservative legislation that cracks down on unchecked illegal immigration.
Still, Democrats sense that they could be left behind.
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“We understand that Senate Republicans have discussed using the budget reconciliation process to advance border security budget measures without any Democratic input,” the senators wrote. “While that’s your right, in working together on a bipartisan basis, we can achieve the best outcome for the American people. There are also limitations to what can be done under budget reconciliation, and as we’ve seen time and time again, no party has all the solutions on this or any issue.”
Members who signed onto Kelly’s letter included Sens. Gary Peters (D-MI), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Angus King (I-ME), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Mark Warner (D-VA), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), and Chris Coons (D-DE).
