The Senate parliamentarian met with Senate Democrats on Tuesday
to discuss Plan C—also called the "parole in place" plan—and indicated
that she would not object to it on the same grounds as the previous plans.
Nearly 100 Democrats also wrote a letter to the Senate this week, again
calling on them to disregard the parliamentarian's previous
ruling and include a pathway to citizenship that covers Dreamers,
essential workers, TPS holders, and farm workers.
Stay tuned
because we're going to take a look at all these details and what they mean
for immigration reform in the build back better reconciliation bill.
Also, I spent a lot of time putting this video together,
so please take a minute to like it.
So what happened on Tuesday and why is it good news
for immigration reform through budget reconciliation?
The Senate parliamentarian met with Democratic staff
to discuss the immigration provisions included in the bill
and did not rule out including them.
To be clear, this is not in her formal decision,
which is expected as early as next week, but it is a good sign that she will not
reject Plan C on the same grounds as she did Plans A and Plan B.
The next step is for the provisions to go through the Byrd test to see if they
meet the budget requirements necessary to be included in reconciliation.
I will continue to bring you updates as we learn more about this
and other important immigration news, so take a minute to subscribe.
In addition to the parliamentarian indicating that she might accept
Plan C, nearly half of the House Democrats also submitted a signed letter to the
Senate this week, calling for them to overrule the parliamentarian's decision
and include a pathway to citizenship for the budget reconciliation bill.
The letter was signed by Democratic representatives Jesus Garcia, Lou Correa,
Adriano Espaillat, Grace Meng and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez,
saying: "While the House passed bill would enact the broadest immigration
benefits in 35 years, it falls short of the legalization promises
given by Democrats, including Biden, on the campaign trail.
The House version of the Build Back Better Act limits
relief for certain undocumented individuals to a five year
parole status, yet another form of temporary reprieve.
We write now to urge you and the rest of your colleagues in the Senate
to reinstate a pathway to citizenship
for dreamers, TPS holders, farmworkers
and essential workers in the Senate's version of the reconciliation bill.
Whether we keep our promise or not is a question of political will.
We do understand that the Senate parliamentarian
has issued a memorandum dismissing, despite evidence to the contrary,
the budgetary impact of providing a pathway to citizenship.
But the role of the parliamentarian is an advisory one,
and the parliamentary opinion is not binding.
As we've discussed, Senate Democrats cannot afford to lose a single vote
if they plan to pass the build back better bill through the Senate
and moderate Democrats like Joe Manchin, have already publicly stated
that they are uncomfortable with overruling the parliamentarian.
Democrats realize that this is probably their last chance to pass immigration
reform for a long time, and negotiations are still going on behind closed doors.
So anything is possible. What do you think?
Do you think Plan C might actually be accepted
into the Senate version of the bill?
Could Senate Democrats be successfully persuaded to disregard
the parliamentarian's decision?
Leave me a comment and let me know.
An equally important question is whether or not
the immigration provisions will pass the Byrd test.
We discussed this in my previous video, which took a look
at the Congressional Budget Office report estimating long
term costs associated with the immigration provisions.
I will include a link to the video here and I will continue
bringing you more immigration news as it becomes available.
So don't forget to subscribe to my channel.
Click here to watch this next video and I'll see you there.