The prospect of Congress passing immigration reform ahead of the midterm elections has dimmed despite a series of recent legislative wins for Democrats.
ANNA PAULINA LUNA TRIES TO FLIP CHARLIE CRIST’S FORMER DISTRICT RED
As a candidate for president, Joe Biden promised to tackle immigration reform and scale back controversial Trump-era immigration policies, such as separating families at the border and halting construction of a border wall. But the border has plagued Biden’s presidency as illegal crossings increase and the GOP places the issue front and center.
Biden’s condemnation of Donald Trump’s handling of the border was one of his biggest critiques of his 2020 rival. But since Biden has taken office, many Republicans have blasted what they characterize as “open border” policies.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, seen as a likely Republican presidential candidate in 2024, recently flew dozens of Venezuelan immigrants to Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, in protest of Biden’s border policies. The move was praised by many conservatives but has come under scrutiny for reportedly luring the immigrants with false promises of housing and employment.
The stunt highlights how the issue has become hyperpoliticized. But even before the Trump and Biden presidencies, Congress had not passed any major immigration reforms since the 1990 Immigration Act.
Senate Democrats attempted to pass immigration reforms during this Congress, most notably a failed effort to include it in a reconciliation bill in December 2021, which the Senate parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough, rejected.
In 2013, a so-called Gang of Eight bipartisan group of senators negotiated a bill that would have granted a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants living in the United States, which passed the Senate in a 68-32 vote, including 14 Republican senators. But the bill was rejected by the Republican-controlled House and then-House Speaker John Boehner.
Democrats’ failure to pass immigration reform since Biden assumed office, despite controlling both chambers of Congress and the White House, has frustrated some progressive activists, who criticized the party’s leadership for abiding by the parliamentarian’s findings rather than attempting to overrule or remove her.
Congress is not poised to reverse this trajectory before November with just a handful of legislative days remaining.
At a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing last week, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), the committee’s chairman, acknowledged Congress did not appear to have immigration reform on the horizon, saying, “Our immigration system is broken, and the reason we haven’t changed it is not for lack of effort.”
“We are a 50-50 Senate and a 50-50 committee,” he said, adding, “It is difficult to find a bipartisan approach that rings true to everyone involved. We have tried, and I’m afraid we haven’t reached it yet, but I hope we do soon.”
Reports had circulated that Congress may find a narrow area of compromise, such as a proposal to protect the legal status of documented “Dreamers” from aging out of their status or permitting entry for more healthcare workers to address shortages, but those talks have not been fruitful.
“Wouldn’t it be something if we did, before the end of the year, a bipartisan bill that brought more doctors and nurses to America, where we desperately need them right now?” Durbin said at the hearing. “If we put aside all of our differences on the other things and dealt with that? Wouldn’t it be refreshing to the American people that we get it?”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Republicans have seized on border issues as a key part of their midterm pitch, as just 36% of registered voters approve of Biden’s handling of border security and immigration, according to a recent NBC News poll. But the same poll found that just 12% said immigration was the top issue facing the country, behind threats to democracy, the cost of living, and jobs and the economy.
