Sen. Joe Manchin has presented a new challenge to President Joe Biden’s $1.75 trillion social spending package moving through Congress, objecting to a massive $100 billion immigration agenda that grants amnesty without major border controls.
The centrist Democrat has begun warning that while he supports aiding so-called “Dreamers” and other immigrants, the bill is a no-go if it doesn’t also include some type of border security spending.
He told Fox’s Bret Baier, for example, “For us to even be talking about immigration without border security is ludicrous.”
His comments present House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s team with a new issue that could scare centrist Democrats if they are forced to vote for the plan, which includes amnesty for up to 11 million illegal immigrants, knowing it won’t be included in any Senate bill if Manchin gets his way.
Sen. Mike Braun, the Indiana Republican who is influential in immigration talks, agreed. “I’m with Joe Manchin on that,” he told Secrets. “There will be no discussion of reforming, in a bipartisan way, immigration issues, and there are valid ones out there,” he added.
Asked if he supports amnesty without border security, @Sen_JoeManchin says “No.”
“For us to even be talking about immigration without border security is ludicrous.”https://t.co/kz42uslhAU
— Adam Shaw (@AdamShawNY) November 4, 2021
If there are to be talks, he said, “it’s got to be on an absolutely secure border.”
The expensive Biden package includes a pathway to citizenship that many consider amnesty instead of asking illegal immigrants in the country to follow the rules of winning citizenship that millions have.
“This money is not intended for border security or to fix any of the problems in the dysfunctional asylum system, but to grease the way for more illegal aliens to become permanent residents,” said Jessica M. Vaughan, the director of policy studies for the Center for Immigration Studies.
“You would think that Tuesday’s election results might dampen the enthusiasm of Democrats for these kinds of actions, but I wonder if it won’t make the leadership more radical since they know their time will be up soon,” she added.
Manchin sounded a similar warning. He said, “The average person turns on the TV and sees what’s going on in the border. And that basically scares the bejesus out of an awful lot of people. If they think they can come and get all the different benefits that people that citizens of America are entitled to, they’re going to continue to come.”
He added, “I would love to do something for people that came even if they came wrong, pay your fine, get in line, 10 years back, you won’t be jumping line, but nobody becomes a citizen until the border is declared secure. So that’s not happening.”
A prior version of the Biden bill’s immigration package drew the scorn of the Senate parliamentarian, who said it needed to be broken out for separate consideration.
The debate over amnesty comes as Biden is pushing back on reports that he plans to spend over $1 billion, giving $450,000 handouts to migrants who were separated from their children during a border crossing spike under the Trump administration.
And there is yet another caravan of up to 3,000 illegal immigrants headed to the Mexico-Texas border that has prompted Sen. Ted Cruz and Rep. Elise Stefanik to demand that Homeland Security enforce border laws.
Today, @RepStefanik and I sent a letter to @SecMayorkas and @DHSgov demanding they enforce federal immigration laws as a caravan of over 3,000 illegal immigrants head toward the southern border. #BidenBorderCrisis https://t.co/ZV3s8iHPQ7
— Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) November 4, 2021
