Democrats Confirm Mass Amnesty in the Budget Reconciliation Bill

As FAIR warned last week, Democrats have been working around the clock on Capitol Hill to inject amnesty into a massive budget bill which they are selling as an “infrastructure package.”

Representative Pramila Jayapal, (D-Wash.), confirmed on Wednesday that the $3.5 trillion budget proposal by Democrats in Congress will include a number of radical priorities – including amnesty for millions of illegal aliens. Jayapal said during a press call that the resolution will include a pathway to citizenship for “Dreamers, [Temporary Protected Status] TPS, essential workers, and farmworkers.”

Press reports estimate that as many as 10 million illegal aliens could eventually be placed on a path to citizenship.

While the inclusion of amnesty is a big deal and warrants concern, it remains an uphill climb for Democrats and the pro-amnesty lobby.

The bill will originate in the Senate and go through the little-known budget reconciliation process, which allows the party in power to pass legislation related to the budget with only a simple majority, bypassing the traditional 60 vote threshold. However, the budget reconciliation process has complex requirements, and FAIR is cautiously optimistic that the Senate Parliamentarian will not allow its inclusion.

Aside from the parliamentarian, all eyes will be on supposed moderate Democrats in the Senate, such as Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), who have bucked their party on a number of issues. Manchin signaled the opposite yesterday, indicating that he is in favor of amnesty as part of the budget reconciliation bill. Sinema has yet to weigh in.

Not only should Manchin and Sinema reject the inclusion of amnesty because it is bad policy and ignores long-standing, proper Senate procedure, FAIR polling released yesterday found that supporting it would be a political plank walk:

• 55% of West Virginia voters said they would be less likely to support Senator Manchin if he were to support efforts to short-circuit normal Senate rules in order to gain amnesty for illegal aliens. Only 24% said it would make them more likely to support him.
• 54% of Arizona voters would be less likely to support Senator Sinema if she were to support efforts to short-circuit normal Senate rules in order to gain amnesty for illegal aliens. Only 22% said it would make them more likely to support her.

The fact is this: Granting amnesty to millions of illegal aliens would not only exacerbate an already raging crisis, but deeply harm our nation for decades. It would set a terrible precedent and an opportunity for the party in power to get around the traditional legislative process to enact unpopular special interest priorities unrelated to spending or revenue. It must be stopped.