But the main goal is progress. And if that means the components of the reform have to move through Congress one by one, or in smaller packages, Biden will do well, two sources close to the White House said.
“This is not an all-or-nothing approach,” said one source, knowing of the White House discussions. ‘We’re not saying you should pass the Biden Bill. But we say this is what we want to do, and we plan to promote legalization. ”
Biden’s immigration plan was an aggressive salvo embraced by the base, while the Republicans, not surprisingly, gave a cool reception. Some on the hill have privately questioned whether Biden is just ticking a box to appease activists. Advocates for immigrants, in turn, say they have no reason at this stage to believe that Biden’s bill is ceremonial. But they warn that if democratic reforms are no longer on the table by the end of the year, the Democrats and Biden will not only get a stir from Dreamers and grassroots organizations, but the party could also suffer politically.
“I want to make it clear: there is nothing about the way they are currently behaving that indicates it is not a priority,” said Lorella Praeli, president of Community Change Action, a thriving grassroots group. ‘And if it were not so [a priority], they will lose the majority in 2022. ”
Biden’s proposal, submitted hours after he was sworn in, paves the way for citizenship for 11 million undocumented immigrants, extensive refugee resettlement and more technology deployed to the border. Although he is leaving Congress to leave the mechanics of approving his immigration plan, he will also continue a series of executive actions on Friday. Among the commands at work are one that restores asylum protection, and another that creates a task force to reunite families separated at the border.
Taken together, Biden’s legislative immigration plan and swift unilateral action provide a clear departure from the last time a Democrat was in the White House. It seems that Biden wanted to avoid the mistakes during the first term of former President Barack Obama, when the Democrats controlled both, but Obama did not pursue a comprehensive immigration reform. Instead of waiting until after the mid-term of 2022 or after a second term, Biden immediately sends his plan up the hill.
“People forget that the Obama administration was in exactly the same situation in 2009 and 2010 and did not introduce an immigration bill,” said Leon Fresco, an immigration attorney who worked in the Obama administration and on a department advisory board. of domestic security sit, said. .
“For the next decade, people criticized the Obama administration for not introducing a bill when they had control of the Senate and the House,” Fresco added. “Joe Biden is simply not going to repeat the mistake.”
As sources close to the government put it, Biden wanted to make clear his immigration priorities, even though the process of succeeding in the law is difficult.
“He’s not starting at the 50-yard line” with a moderate proposal like Obama did, the source close to the White House said.
A White House official disputes Biden’s postponement to Congress and says the president is working with lawmakers to approve the larger bill. The proposal contains elements that, according to the president, have not been addressed effectively in the past, as the Trump administration’s policy was aimed at building a boundary wall. “We expect elected officials from both sides to come to the table so that we can finally do so,” the official said.
In addition, other sources close to the White House and a number of immigration advocates said the Democrats should set up any immigration pressures necessary for the economic recovery of the country. But while the government is actively monitoring and pursuing the reform effort, it is stepping back while Congress works out the real legislative language.
“We’re not just going to enforce our will,” Cedric Richmond, director of the White House’s public engagement office, said during an event with POLITICO last week. Congress should consider Biden’s bill a “priority statement,” he said, but they should “buy into it.”
Biden’s first priority is an immediate response to the coronavirus and related stimulus negotiations. Yet they are holding information sessions with Hill Democrats on immigration reform. White House tax advisers held talks with Hispanic Caucus offices and heads of border guards.
“We want to see them move forward quickly,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said of the congressional action on Biden’s immigration proposal last week.
Most lawmakers and staff who spoke to POLITICO say they think Biden is serious.
Senator Bob Menendez (DN.J.) describes the approval of a comprehensive reform bill as a ‘herculean task’. But Biden’s government “will put political capital on the table to make it happen,” he said last week in a call with immigration and labor advocates.
Undoubtedly, the divisions fueled under former President Donald Trump will make cross-party support for any major immigration bill difficult. As one chief of staff put it: “there really is no room for error.”
Despite the early setbacks of some Republicans, Menendez is optimistic that more will come to the table. He spoke with sen Lindsey Graham, who supported comprehensive reform in 2013, and Menendez thinks the South Carolina Republican will eventually support reform measures. Menendez has not yet spoken to Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla) about the bill, but he has spoken to other Republicans who voted in favor of the effort in 2013. The additional Republicans still in office who support immigration reform under Obama are Sens. John Hoeven (ND), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Susan Collins (Maine).
Menendez and a number of other Democratic lawmakers have said they want to push for a major immigration package immediately, hoping it will be more leveraged in negotiations. But the reality of a split Senate makes it harder, and other senators such as Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin – who will be tasked by the Senate Judiciary Committee with overseeing any immigration reforms – have left the door open for a more step by step approach.
Although talks are early and fluent, some members of the House who worked on Biden’s immigration proposal said at a recent meeting that they would like to pass an extensive bill first. According to a source with knowledge of discussions, they said they are open to breaking down individual pieces if the larger account strikes. An extensive package could offer 50-50 fierce resistance in the Senate if Democrats do not eliminate the legislative filibuster or find ways to include immigration proposals in the budget reconciliation process.
If Congress does decide to divide the bill into components, they may find advocates receptive to the approach.
This is because those advocates are watching a ticking clock: Bills passed last Congress can be moved directly to the floor without having to go through the committee if they are voted on before April 1st. such as those that provide a path for so-called dreamers, temporary protective status holders and deferred forced departure holders from war- and disaster-stricken countries to move through the house faster.
“The Democrats certainly need to do the work to support the president’s larger-scale reform proposal,” said Tom Jawetz, vice president of immigration policy at the Center for American Progress. “But they can not pass up an opportunity or disuse any legislative tool.” This includes the use of reconciliation to provide permanent protection to vital workers and their families on the coronavirus relief and economic recovery packages currently underway, he said.
Jawetz and other advocates urged Democrats in Congress to take victories where they can get them, saying it could build goodwill and the appetite for even more action.
If Democrats do not start shifting these components this spring, there will be a major setback because everyone knows this is the moment, ‘said Marshall Fitz, managing director of immigration for the Emerson Collective, an organization for social justice.
So far, lawyers are taking Biden at his word, saying they have no reason to believe he sent his immigration bill to Congress on Day One merely as a symbolic gesture. Yet they keep a close eye on and stop printing campaigns that include digital advertising purchases and ground-level preparation to ensure that Congress acts decisively. A number of immigrant rights groups also participate in regular information sessions with Home Staff.
‘[We can] be cynical or skeptical about the likelihood that Republicans will come to terms with some of this, ”Fitz said. “But I think Biden really wants to see legally how far he can go.”