The House Judiciary Committee on Monday began considering a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants who were essential workers during the coronavirus pandemic, as well as Temporary Protected Status holders and illegal immigrants who were brought to the United States as children, as part of their $3.5 trillion go-it-alone “Build Back Better” social programs spending bill.
Democrats estimate that all the immigration provisions together could provide a pathway to citizenship for some 8 million people.
But it is not clear if the provisions will stay in the bill, which Democrats are advancing through a budget reconciliation process that bypasses the need for support from at least 10 Senate Republicans due to filibuster rules. Bills in that process are not allowed to concern measures “extraneous” to the budget.
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The legislative text provides a pathway to permanent status or citizenship to illegal immigrants who have been in the U.S. since at least Jan. 1, 2020, and can demonstrate a “consistent record of earned income” between Jan. 31, 2020, and Aug. 24, 2021, in an occupation defined as an essential worker as outlined in a Department of Security memo issued last month.
Democrats have long pushed for giving essential workers a pathway to citizenship, with some hoping that it would be in a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill passed in March.
The Center for American Progress, a left-wing think tank, estimates that 5 million illegal immigrants worked in “front-line” jobs during the coronavirus pandemic.
Adding in those who came to the U.S. as children, called “DREAMers” after the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act, and those who received Temporary Protected Status due to an environmental disaster or other danger in their home countries would push the number potentially eligible for amnesty to 8 million.
Last week, a group of 50 economists signed a letter to congressional leaders advocating for the pathway to citizenship provisions, pointing to a report from the Center for American Progress and the University of California, Davis Global Migration Center that estimated the provisions would increase U.S. gross domestic product by $1.5 trillion and create 400,000 new jobs over the next decade.
Democrats in the House Judiciary Committee and beyond pointed to that study to argue that the amnesty provisions were an “investment” in the economy.
And they also have support from President Joe Biden.
“I want us to see us finally, finally provide Dreamers, TPS recipients, farmworkers, essential workers, a pathway to citizenship,” Biden said in a speech last week.
The Congressional Budget Office, though, reportedly issued a preliminary estimate saying that the immigration provisions would add $139.6 billion to budget deficits over 10 years.
Republicans are enraged at the push to give amnesty to millions as the number of illegal crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border has hit record highs this year.
“Does it do anything to dissuade people to come into this country illegally? No — it provides an additional incentive,” said Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs, a Republican and the chairman of the House Freedom Caucus. “This bill rewards illegal immigration and will encourage future surges of illegal immigration while we still have an open border.”
The immigration provisions, though, could get taken out of the bill altogether.
Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough, who previously worked for the Department of Justice handling immigration cases, will issue a ruling on whether the provisions are “extraneous” to the budget.
Earlier this year, she blocked Democrats from adding a $15-an-hour minimum wage provision to a COVID-19 spending bill that also went through the reconciliation process.
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Democrats could in theory ignore the parliamentarian’s ruling, with Vice President Kamala Harris presiding and overruling the parliamentarian. She and the White House declined to do so, though, for the $15 minimum wage provision.
“Democrats’ economic plan: lock down the economy, spend like crazy, pay people not to work, and give amnesty to illegals. And for everyone who is working and is here legally and a citizen of this country, they’re going to raise your taxes. Such a deal,” said Ohio Republican Rep. Jim Jordan, the ranking member on the House Judiciary Committee.
