Senate rules will not allow Democrats to include mass amnesty in their budget reconciliation bill. The ruling comes amidst a border crisis resulting in the deportation of thousands of Haitians.
Summary
The Senate parliamentarian issued a ruling late Sunday night that said Congressional Democrats could not include immigration policy reforms in their proposed $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation bill.
- The ruling said the proposal to create a pathway to citizenship for millions in the United States illegally is a “tremendous and enduring policy change that dwarfs its budgetary impact.”
- Senate Democrats are undeterred, with Majority Leader Chuck Schumer vowing to “pursue the best path forward” for granting citizenship to those in the country illegally.
- The news comes on the heels of a flood of Haitian migrants trying to enter the U.S. illegally.
- Most have arrived at Del Rio, Texas where they are being detained under a bridge.
- American officials are preparing for large-scale deportations of the Haitians, saying there will be “five to eight flights a day” back to Haiti.
- The New York Times detailed the “squalid conditions” in which the Haitians have been kept, noting Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s criticism of the Biden administration’s border policies.
- CNN’s reporting on the Senate parliamentarian’s ruling doused Democrats’ hopes of salvaging the situation, noting how difficult it is to overrule the parliamentarian.
- Newsweek highlighted the social media response by politicians and the blue checkmark brigade, with progressive Rep Ilhan Omar saying it was “only a recommendation” and the Senate should ignore it.
- Wall Street Journal reported on the porous border security, noting while Texas law enforcement deterred illegal entry at one spot, it just shifted people to other locations while illegal immigrants are free to leave and enter the country as they desire.
- Fox News noted South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham’s response to the parliamentarian’s ruling saying he agreed “granting legal status to illegal immigrants is not a proper use of the reconciliation process.”
- Breitbart followed Newsweek’s lead, compiling the reactions among the Left on Twitter and noting many are “urging Senate Democrats to simply ignore” the decision.
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© Dallas Gerber, 2021
