The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

Biden's immigration reform bill faces rejection from Republican congressmen

2021-01-22T03:43:28.234Z


Description By Sahil Kapur - NBC News WASHINGTON - President Joe Biden's ambitious immigration plan has met rapid resistance from top Republicans in the Senate, including some who championed a similar plan eight years ago. Immigration activists widely praised the legislative proposal, but top Senate lawmakers from both parties expressed skepticism that it could pass, at least without substantive changes. S


By Sahil Kapur - NBC News

WASHINGTON - President Joe Biden's ambitious immigration plan has met rapid resistance from top Republicans in the Senate, including some who championed a similar plan eight years ago.

Immigration activists widely praised the legislative proposal, but top Senate lawmakers from both parties expressed skepticism that it could pass, at least without substantive changes.

Senators believe the proposal is unlikely to get the necessary 60 votes in the upper house to overcome the

filibuster

 (a political procedure used in the Senate to block laws or unwanted nominations by those who constitute the minority).

Biden would need at least 10 Republican votes in his favor, as the Senate is currently 50-50.

Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio, a key figure in the 2013 reform promoted by the eight senators known as

Gang of Eight

(The

Gang of Eight

) that was approved by the Senate but died in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives , called Biden's proposal an initiative with no chance of success.

"There are many issues that I think we can work on in cooperation with President-elect Biden, but a blanket amnesty for the people who are here illegally is not going to be one of them," he said in a statement Tuesday, the day before the takeover. of possession.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, said he doubts Biden's plan can pass, describing it as "to the left" of the 2013 legislation he helped draft, arguing that it includes fewer provisions to strengthen the border security.

Graham, who took a far-right stance during the Trump administration, said the most likely outcome to occur is a minor deal on the 2012 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Program, which President Barack Obama instituted. unilaterally.

"I think probably the possibility in a 50-50 split Senate would be kind of a DACA deal," Graham said Thursday.

"Comprehensive immigration reform is going to be difficult to get through given this environment, but I think DACA is possible."

Rubio and Graham are the two remaining Republican members of the group that crafted the 2013 bill, making their resistance a major alarm for Biden.

His plan proposes easing asylum restrictions, and granting an eight-year path to citizenship for the roughly 11 million undocumented people living in the United States, after undergoing criminal background checks and paying their taxes.

Biden's plan also proposes changing the word 'alien' to 'non-citizen', a symbolic step in acknowledging the role of immigrants in American history.

Of the 13 Republican senators who voted for the 2013 immigration bill, only five remain: Rubio, Graham, John Hoeven, for North Dakota;

Susan Collins, for Maine and Lisa Murkowski, for Alaska.

This project came after Obama's reelection, when the Republican elite decided that the party needed to adopt a more liberal immigration policy.

But Donald Trump changed this approach in his 2016 presidential campaign, which mobilized conservative voters around an anti-immigration platform.

The campaign arm of the Republican Party in the Senate, which is focused on winning the majority back in 2022, quickly dubbed Biden's immigration plan "amnesty and open borders."

Even if all 50 Democrats rallied to support him, finding 10 Republicans to also prop up the bill would be a daunting task.

"I do not believe that even the support of one will be obtained," said a Republican Party aide who was not authorized to speak about the prospects of the plan, arguing that the path to citizenship is "a problem" for Republicans.

The aide suggested that Biden's plan is an attempt to placate progressives, not a "take it or leave it" thing.

Adding border provisions could help, but it may not be enough, he added.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell criticized Biden's plan on Thursday, calling it "a massive blanket amnesty proposal that would undermine the enforcement of American law while creating huge incentives for people to come running illegally. "

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, said he has "very serious concerns" about Biden's immigration policy.

Hawley is delaying a Senate vote to confirm that Alejandro Mayorkas becomes Secretary of Homeland Security, and says Mayorkas should first explain how he would enforce immigration laws.

Senators Tim Scott of South Carolina and Ben Sasse of Nebraska said Thursday they will study the plan more closely before providing an opinion.

Among Democrats in both houses of Congress, Biden's plan was met with high praise.

"I would personally support all of the elements it contains," said Hawaii Sen. Mazie Hirono.

Some Democrats want the plan to be more progressive.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Washington, called the proposal "very, very strong," but said she wants more provisions related to immigration detention.

"It's wonderful to have a president who finally looks at immigrants in a positive light," he said.

What if Republicans block the bill in the Senate?

"The

filibuster

is reformed

if the Republicans refuse to accept," Jayapal said.

A senior Democratic official said Republicans don't seem to have the political appetite for comprehensive immigration reform, saying, "I don't know how you could get the support of 10 (Republican senators)."

The official said a

filibuster

against immigration reform, as well as other Democratic priorities (such as protecting voting rights) would lead to more room for a debate within the party on the abolition of the 60-vote rule.

Source: telemundo

All news articles on 2021-01-22

You may like

Trends 24h

News/Politics 2024-03-27T16:45:54.081Z

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.