Senate parliamentarian rejects Democrats’ second attempt to include immigration in economic bill

By CNN Newsource

Published September 29, 2021 1:02 PM

By Daniella Diaz and Priscilla Alvarez, CNN

The Senate Parliamentarian on Wednesday rejected Democrats’ second attempt to try to include a pathway to legalization for immigrants in a bill that could be passed with just Democratic support, a source tells CNN.

Democrats argued this time to the parliamentarian that they include a provision to change the registry date from 1972 to 2010 for the legalization of immigrants and it could be passed using budget reconciliation.

The effort to include immigration in their economic agenda bill, although it has faced long odds, has stood as one of the last clear opportunities for Democrats to pass substantial immigration reform in President Joe Biden’s first year in office.

Senate parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough, an official who advises the Senate on how its rules, protocols and precedents should be applied, rejected Democrats’ second argument after they submitted a memo Tuesday.

“This registry proposal is also one in which those persons who are not currently eligible to adjust status under the law (a substantial proportion of the targeted population) would become eligible, which is a weighty policy change and our analysis of this issue is thus largely the same as the LPR proposal,” MacDonough wrote in a response, which was obtained by CNN.

The source stressed to CNN they believed this fight for including immigration reform “is not over,” but this is — again — a huge loss for Democrats who want to include these provisions as a last-ditch effort for reform.

The ruling marks the latest setback for Democrats who have pinned their hopes of passing immigration reform this year on the reconciliation bill.

Immigrant advocacy groups were disappointed by the parliamentarian’s earlier ruling against a separate proposal to include legalization, but remained optimistic. Sergio Gonzales, Immigration Hub’s executive director, said at the time the decision “is not the final straw.”

Those hopes, though, might be dimming.

For years, Congress has tried and failed to pass legislation to provide a pathway to citizenship or otherwise address the immigration system. In the absence of legislation, the Obama administration, and now the Biden administration, has relied on DACA to ensure the group known as “Dreamers” — many of whom are now adults — can stay and work in the US.

This week, the Biden administration took steps to save the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that shields hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants brought to the US as children from deportation.

The Department of Homeland Security announced a proposed rule which will go through a public comment period but stressed that it is still not a final substitute for congressional action.

“The Biden-Harris Administration continues to take action to protect Dreamers and recognize their contributions to this country,” said Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in a statement. “This notice of proposed rulemaking is an important step to achieve that goal. However, only Congress can provide permanent protection. I support the inclusion of immigration reform in the reconciliation bill and urge Congress to act swiftly to provide Dreamers the legal status they need and deserve.”

CNN’s Lauren Fox and Manu Raju contributed to this report.