House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said on Tuesday that Democrats will attempt to pass a massive comprehensive immigration reform bill.
The House will be considering two bills this week aimed at lessening the current crisis at the border.
The first proposed bill, called the Dream and Promise Act, will provide citizenship to Dreamers, who are illegal immigrants that entered the US as children.
The second bill, the Farm Modernization Workforce Act, would result in special immigration status for agricultural workers. The bill would also allow agricultural corporations to quickly bring in new migrants to work via an H-2A visa application process.
Several House Republicans did vote for these two bills, with 7 voting for the Dream and Promise Act and 34 voting for the Farm Modernization Workforce Act.
“These two bills are not the fix, but they fixed a part of the problem,” said Hoyer in a phone call to reporters. “But we need to pass comprehensive immigration reform, and we’re going to do so in the coming months.”
The Democrats’ immigration reform plan would allow at least 11 million illegal immigrants who are currently in the United States a pathway to citizenship. The plan would also allow the relatives of legal immigrants to enter the country much more quickly than before.
Both bills passed the House during the last legislative session but did not make their way into the Senate. These bills would unlikely pass, as Republicans would likely filibuster the legislation. 60 votes would be needed to stop a filibuster.
Democratic Senator Dick Durban, the majority whip in the Senate, said that any immigration reform would not get through the Senate.
“I don’t see a means of reaching it,” said Durbin. “I want it. And I think we are much more likely to deal with discrete elements.”
The Biden administration has asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to help out with the current crisis.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas recently announced that he ordered FEMA to provide shelter to migrant children who are trying to cross the border without any guardians.
The Biden administration’s Press Secretary has essentially refused to acknowledge that there is a crisis at the border. When asked if there was in fact a crisis, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki stated that reporters should not put “new labels” on the crisis.
Some Democrats have blamed Trump for the border crisis.
“I do know that the Biden administration is trying to fix the broken system that was left to them by the Trump administration,” said Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi
Republicans believe Biden’s current policies are the reason for the crisis.
“This crisis is affecting our entire country. It’s a tragedy that can be completely avoided. It’s owned completely by President Biden and his administration,” Said Texas Rep. Chip Roy
“This administration has decided that instead of partnering with the American people to protect communities, instead has partnered with drug cartels,” said Rep. Michael Cloud.
Despite the crisis, Biden stated that he currently does not have any plans of visiting the border.
“He needs to come to this border, look what has happened, at what he’s created, and change it,” said McCarthy to Fox News. “It’s worse than a crisis. I thought I would see a crisis, but this is really a human heartbreak.”
“We have our brand-new facility to care for these children and they built it beyond capacity, thinking they would never reach it,” said McCarthy. “Today, they just set the anniversary that they broke capacity, more than 1,040 children, and it’s only growing every day. What that means is 120 of these border agents, that are doing an extraordinary job in unbelievable times, can’t be on the border protecting us.”
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