Biden Pushes For Inclusion Of Immigration Reform In Reconciliation Budget Bill

President Joe Biden said that he supports Democratic efforts to include immigration reform in the Democrats-only reconciliation budget bill. “I think we should include in the reconciliation bill the immigration proposal,” the president said.

Just a few days ago, Biden seemed on the fence about whether or not immigration could be part of a reconciliation bill.

On Thursday, Hispanic lawmakers said that the president fully supported their efforts to include immigration in the budget.

Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.) told reporters: “He agrees that the best path at this point is to try to use reconciliation as a vehicle for moving immigration pieces, and as robust as the votes will bear. We talked about those groups in particular because there are pieces of legislation already in existence that deal with those populations.”

Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chairman Raúl Ruiz (D-Calif.) added: “We talked about the urgency of now, and that this is the time to really make a 110 percent effort.”

The White House later issued a statement, saying that Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris “expressed their strong support for including immigration reform in upcoming reconciliation legislation to enable Dreamers, TPS recipients, farmworkers and essential workers to gain long-awaited pathways to citizenship.”

Sen. Alex Padilla (D-California) expressed gratitude for the administration’s support. “This is a critical moment for the future of immigration reform,” Padilla said. “The upcoming budget reconciliation process provides us with the best opportunity we’ve had in years to take action. I am grateful to have the unequivocal support of President Biden and Vice President Harris in our effort to finally provide immigrants with a well-earned pathway to citizenship through budget reconciliation.”

Article by Elizabeth Letsou