For decades, lawmakers tried to reform the US immigration system and failed. The most recent effort will also be a big boost, as Democrats narrowly control the House and Senate and face a Republican Party that has moved farther to the right on the issue since the 2013 bipartisan bill.
Biden’s project is also likely to join a series of other immigration measures that are closely focused on undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as children, are in the United States in the form of humanitarian aid and are working in agriculture – creating a stunning scenario the number of attempts to legalize the undocumented population.
Biden reiterated on Tuesday that he wants a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants residing in the United States, but signaled a willingness to pass other immigration measures in the meantime.
“Yes, there are a number of things related to immigration,” said the president during a meeting at CNN city hall, when asked if he would sign a bill that did not include a path to citizenship.
Democratic lawmakers hope to resurrect these bills in the House before April 1, when they can present legislation that has already passed the House without going through the committee.
“It gives us the most options if we send all three pieces of legislation to the Senate,” said Rep. Jim Costa, a California Democrat. “Yes, it is ambitious, but we have been blocked for four years.”
Defenders of immigrants emphasized the need for legislative reform after years of constant political change and executive action that put millions of lives in limbo. Trying different ways to make this reform is a necessity, they argue.
“We want to be pragmatic and get things done quickly,” said Kerri Talbot, deputy director of the Immigration Hub, a defense organization that works with Congress.
Path to the citizenship plan
White House officials recognize the limitations of executive authority in modifying immigration policy.
“The president has a lot of authority to fix the immigration system in a number of different ways,” said Tyler Moran, the president’s special immigration assistant to the Domestic Policy Council, last month during the winter meeting of the US Mayors Conference .
“But what the president really cannot do is provide people with permanent status and we have made many attempts, but we really have to do this to ensure that people are on the path of citizenship,” she added.
A group of House Democrats is leading the effort to pass Biden’s immigration bill.
“President Biden presented his vision for robust immigration reform. Now it is up to Congress to hand it over,” said Democratic Rep. Linda Sanchez of California in a statement. “With a Democratic majority in both Chambers and an overwhelming majority of the public on our side – as well as a number of legislative tools at our disposal – I believe that we will succeed in finally securing permanent solutions.”
Democratic Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey will take the lead on the Senate side. The bill is due to be presented by the end of the week, according to a Democratic source.
Notably, the bill offers an immediate path to citizenship for rural workers, DACA beneficiaries and holders of Temporary Protection Status. He also outlines a plan for undocumented immigrants that would eventually allow them to apply for green cards if they pass background checks and pay taxes.
The legislation signals the Biden government’s approach to immigration – largely centered on looking at immigration holistically and not just at the US-Mexico border. The bill, for example, will include $ 4 billion in funding to increase assistance to El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras and create safe and legal channels for migrants to seek protection.
“The president’s proposal for immigration reform is a starting point for negotiations, but it starts from a position of strength, unlike the proposals that we saw in previous years that condition legalization to massive increases for immigration enforcement, massive increases staff and additional barriers to legalization based on criminal conduct, “said Jorge Loweree, policy director for the American Immigration Council. “This is a significant rethink.”
Veto threat is gone
In the days after Biden’s election, the prospect of what would be possible in immigration reform began to change on Capitol Hill. While advisers and members recognize that Republicans will certainly never go as far as they want on some issues, the hope was without Donald Trump, lawmakers could return to the negotiating table.
“There are Republicans who want to do things,” said Sen. Tim Kaine, a Democrat from Virginia at the time. “Trump may still be there as an ordinary citizen, but as soon as you’re not worried about a threat of veto, some things will become more possible. It may not be what you have with a strong Democratic majority, but I think there is some perspective to do more than just a few narrow corrections. “
Even the Democrats who worked on the package signaled an openness to break the pieces of a comprehensive bill to get some results. Anything that passed the Senate would need 60 votes, meaning that 10 Republicans would have to board.
“I understand that – although I lead the White House bill, I have been here long enough to understand that there is a give and take that occurs,” Menendez told reporters last month. “I mean, immigration has obviously been complicated in the past to obtain bipartisan support, even internal support among Democrats to get on the same page.”
DACA and ‘Dreamers’
Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, who was part of the Gang of Eight who helped draft the latest comprehensive immigration bill, told reporters in January that the sweet spot was probably something at DACA.
“I just think that comprehensive immigration will be a difficult sell, given this environment, but I think doing DACA is possible.”
It is not the first time that the so-called “DREAM Act” has appeared. In 2001, Sens. Orrin Hatch, a Utah Republican, and Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, introduced the Development, Assistance and Education Act for Foreign Minors. He sought to provide young undocumented immigrants with a path to legal status and gave the group of undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children the nickname “Dreamers”.
But hanging over legislative pressure today is an early decision by a federal judge in Texas who has a case challenging the DACA before him.
“I don’t believe they are acting with the urgency that a judge can stand trial in Texas any day,” said Greisa Martinez Rosas, executive director of United We Dream, a Congressional defense organization. “We need to leave this year with something in our hands.”
Asked about Texas’ early decision, White House press secretary Jen Psaki reiterated Biden’s defense of DACA. “It is a program that he has been committed to for a long time to protect and preserve and to take all measures to do just that,” she said. “I will not anticipate a judge’s decision in Texas.”
This story was updated with comments from President Joe Biden.
CNN’s Daniella Diaz and Betsy Klein contributed to this report.