Senate Democrats say it may be difficult, if not impossible, to send a pair of House-passed amnesty bills to President Biden’s desk as lawmakers restart a decadeslong debate over how to reform the nation’s immigration system.
House Democrats easily passed two measures on Thursday that would provide a pathway to citizenship for up to 4 million people now living here illegally.
Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said Democrats plan to go even further in the coming months, with a broader amnesty bill proposed by Biden that would offer a means to obtain citizenship for all of the nation’s approximately 11 million illegal immigrants.
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While House Democrats Thursday celebrated passing two legalization measures for farmworkers and Dreamers and planned their next big immigration bill, their counterparts across the Capitol were skeptical they can strike the kind of bipartisan deal that would be needed to pass similar legislation in the Senate, where 60 votes are necessary to bring a bill to the floor for debate.
Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin, an Illinois Democrat who leads the Judiciary Committee, plans to hold hearings soon on the House-passed measures, which would legalize so-called Dreamers who arrived illegally in the United States as children, as well as many of the nation’s migrant farms workers.
Durbin said he’s unsure if he can find bipartisan support to pass either of the two bills, never mind the much larger comprehensive package that would legalize 11 million people. Democrats control 50 votes and would need at least 10 GOP lawmakers to advance legislation due to the filibuster.
“I don’t see a means of reaching it,” Durbin told reporters who asked about a comprehensive bill that would address all illegal immigrants. “I want it. I think we’re much more likely to deal with discrete elements.”
The Senate last passed a comprehensive immigration bill in 2013, when the chamber was under Democratic control. But the bill died in the House.
Some lawmakers are now eyeing those 2013 bipartisan as a guide to crafting a new proposal that can earn 60 votes. But shifting views on immigration in both parties could make it difficult.
The 2013 measure included border security and immigration reform provisions the liberal factions in Congress may be unwilling to accept, while Republicans are in no mood to vote for an amnesty measure while the southern border is experiencing a massive surge in illegal immigration.
Republicans have accused Biden of luring the thousands of illegal immigrants who have flooded the southern border with a promise of amnesty.
“Border Patrol agents say it is total mayhem,” House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, a Louisiana Republican, said during the House floor immigration debate Thursday. “Migrant facilities are already at 700% capacity. Meanwhile, Democrats are ramming through a mass amnesty bill which will encourage even more illegal immigration.”
But nine House Republicans voted for the legislation to legalize Dreamers and 30 GOP lawmakers backed the measure legalizing migrant farmworkers.
Sen. Joe Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat, said he believes there is a pathway to pass an immigration reform bill in the Senate if lawmakers revisit the 2013 model.
The 2013 measure combined improved border security with immediate legalization and a pathway to citizenship for most of the nation’s 11 million illegal immigrants. It would also have increased visas for workers who are high and low skilled, and it creates a guest-worker program for farmworkers.
The measure would have added 3,500 new Border Patrol agents and would have required companies to use E-Verify to prevent the hiring of illegal immigrants. Border Patrol would be tasked with stopping 90% of illegal crossings.
“Just go back to the 2013 bill,” Manchin said this week, adding that he believes a comprehensive bill can pass the Senate, “if you secure the border first.”
Only five of the eight “gang” members remain.
Sen. Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican, withdrew his support for the measure, while Sen. Jeff Flake, an Arizona Republican, is no longer in office. Arizona Republican John McCain died in 2018.
Sen. Bob Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat and co-sponsor of the 2013 compromise measure, said Democrats are not promising to pass any immigration measures.
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“I think that our goal is not about whether we pass these bills or something else,” Menendez said. “Our goal [is] to see if we can come together with a series of Republicans, to see how far we can go.
The House-passed Dreamer and farmworkers measures, Menendez said, are “drivers of the conversation.”
