President Joe Biden's chances of signing legislation that fulfills his promise to provide a path to citizenship for 11 million immigrants in the U.S. illegally have dwindled now that Republicans control the House of Representatives.
On his first day in office, Biden proposed the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021 to provide a citizenship path for farmworkers and immigrants who came to the U.S. illegally as children and for beneficiaries of Temporary Protected Status. House Democrats introduced the bill in February 2021, but it did not advance.
Because budgetary bills don't require a 60-vote majority in the Senate, Democrats set their sights on the fiscal year 2022 spending bill as an avenue to pass a pathway to citizenship for the same group of immigrants in the 2021 citizenship act. But the Senate's parliamentarian, who decides what can and cannot be included in the budget reconciliation process, ruled against the Democrats' three attempts to include immigration reform in the bill.
After the November midterm elections, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., introduced an immigration bill that would have strengthened border security and provided a path to citizenship for some immigrants who came to the U.S. illegally as children. The proposal, which would have needed 60 votes, did not advance to the Senate floor.
After visiting the southwest border Jan. 9, a bipartisan group of senators — including Cornyn and Sinema — said they would once again discuss an immigration bill. But with Republicans in charge of the House, the possibilities of a bill granting a path to citizenship are limited, said Theresa Cardinal Brown, managing director of immigration and cross-border policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center.
Republicans in Congress are pushing for more resources and security at the border, while Democrats seek paths to citizenship for immigrants in the country illegally. But neither party has enough votes to pass the bills they want.
"The bridge between the parties on some of these issues has grown wider and harder to make the necessary negotiations and concessions to get enough votes from the other party to pass legislation," Cardinal Brown said.
Immigrants who came to the U.S. illegally as children are more likely to benefit from legislation, said Cardinal Brown. Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers have generally expressed support for this group of immigrants. The U.S. Supreme Court this year is expected to rule on the legality of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, an Obama-era program that protects certain young immigrants from deportation.
The possibility of a bill providing 11 million immigrants with a path to citizenship is limited, especially with Republican control of the House.
We rate this promise Stalled.