First it’s the Republican compromise bill to redefine marriage to include gay marriage in the Senate.
Now it’s another Republican compromise to give illegals a pathway to citizen in the Senate.
Thom Tillis is behind them both.
I would expect the plan to be to shove this through before Republicans take over the House in January, because McCarthy has vowed not to support any path to citizenship for any illegals whatsoever.
Here’s more via the Washington Post:
Sens. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) have reached an agreement on a draft framework of immigration reform compromises, sources familiar with the situation tell me. They involve issues such as the fate of “dreamers” brought here illegally as children and the processing of asylum seekers at the southern border. Will the 10 Republican senators necessary to overcome a filibuster go along?
A white paper laying out this Tillis-Sinema blueprint is circulating on Capitol Hill, congressional aides and advocates plugged into the talks tell me. Though the details are in flux, here’s a partial list of the major items it contains:
- Some form of path to citizenship for 2 million dreamers.
- A large boost in resources to speed up the processing of asylum seekers, including new processing centers and more asylum officers and judges.
- More resources to expedite the removal of migrants who don’t qualify for asylum.
- A continuation of the Title 42 covid-health-rule restriction on migrants applying for asylum, until the new processing centers are operational, with the aim of a one-year cutoff.
- More funding for border officers.
The idea behind this compromise is this: It gives Democrats protections for 2 million dreamers and beefed up defenses of the due process rights of some migrants. It gives Republicans faster removal of migrants who fail to qualify for asylum to prevent them from remaining in the country, a continued restriction on applications for the next year and more border security.
It remains to be seen whether enough Republicans or Democrats will support this in the Senate. I sincerely hope not, becuase the voters just put Republicans in charge of the House. All major legislation should be put on hold until the new House convenes.
The Republican Senator from North Carolina knows this, but would seem to have other plans to try and get this through with Democrats still in charge. It’s infuriating. Thom Tillis is quickly becoming one of the worst Republicans we have in the Senate and it’s my shame that this RINO comes from North Carolina.