Efforts to pass immigration reform continued
when a bipartisan group of senators met to discuss which initiatives
have enough support to pass in the evenly divided Senate.
On April 28th, Senator Dick Durbin, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, met
with a group of senators
on the immigration subcommittee in an effort to get some form
of immigration reform passed before the midterm elections.
Several topics are up for consideration, including changes for migrant farm
workers, foreign workers stuck in the green card backlog and children
who have aged out of their parents green card application.
Does this mean there is hope of passing some form of immigration
reform before the midterm election in November?
We're going to talk about what is being considered
and how likely it is that something will pass.
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Democrats see passing some form of immigration reform
as needed to win before the midterm elections.
When Biden came into office, Democrats hope to pass comprehensive immigration
reform, including a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.
But despite controlling both the White House and Congress,
those efforts have failed.
That inability to deliver on immigration will likely be a big problem
for Democrats in the upcoming midterms.
And now there is growing tension with Biden's handling
of the southern border, even from members of his own party.
Order.
Officials have been apprehending more than 13,000 undocumented migrants per day,
and the immigration court backlog now has more than 1.7 million cases
that would take four years to process, even if no new cases were added.
Despite this, Biden is trying to repeal Title 42 later this month,
a move that is opposed by Republicans and a number of Democrats
in more conservative districts.
Last week, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said
they were planning for as many as 18,000 migrants a day once the rule is lifted.
Many fear this will overwhelm our already strained immigration system
and make things worse for Democrats in the upcoming midterms.
So with growing
tension, what immigration measures are being considered before November?
The political climate will undoubtedly
make it harder to pass anything regarding immigration,
but there are some initiatives that have been shown to have bipartisan
support, including bills proposed by Republican senators.
One initiative is the Farm Workforce Modernization Act,
which has already been passed by the House and received 30 votes
from Republican members.
This would provide protections for undocumented farmworkers
in the country, including a pathway to citizenship.
There have also been talks about recapturing unused green cards
to help clear the employment based green card backlog.
Republican Senator Tom Tillis proposed a bill
for this earlier this year, and a more narrow bill was proposed
that would use recaptured green cards specifically for health care workers.
Other initiatives that could be considered include protections for Dreamers
and an initiative to prevent children
from aging out before their parent's green card becomes available.
Senators would not confirm what was discussed during this first
meeting, stressing that the discussions are still in early stages.
But some expressed encouragement that talks had restarted in earnest
after a similar efforts last year broke down.
Senator Cornyn—who has emphasized that replacing Title 42 with other border
controls must be part of any solution that moves forward—said to reporters:
"I've been here for a while
now, and we've never failed to fail when it comes to immigration.
So I'm hoping this time is different." In my previous video, on these talks,
many of you expressed disbelief that anything would happen.
So what do you think now?
Will these talks still not go anywhere?
Leave me a comment and let me know.
If you want to learn more about the specific bills
under consideration, I will put a link to my previous video
that goes more into depth on each one here.
I will also continue to bring you additional immigration news
as it becomes available, so make sure you subscribe
and turn notifications if you haven't done so yet.
Click here to watch this video next and I'll see you there.