Senate Budget Bill Includes Immigration

Here at the Law Office of N.J. Saleh, we stay up-to-date on potential changes to immigration law, but never encourage reliance on them until they are officially approved by Congress and signed by the President. Please keep this in mind as you read the below:

Senate democrats are including in a budget reconciliation bill provisions that would provide funding for a pathway to citizenship for millions of undocumented individuals. As the proposal stands, undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as minors, beneficiaries of the Temporary Protected Status program, essential workers and immigrant farmworkers would be granted a pathway to citizenship. Far left democrats, including Senator Alex Padilla, indicate that, if approved, the measures could go into effect in just a few months. Moderate democrat, Joe Manchin, who has been a key player in many recent negotiations, supports the immigration measures included. President Biden praises the efforts unequivocally.

There remain a few obstacles despite a pass only requiring a simple majority. First, all democrats must support the bill for it to pass. So far it’s looking like they will. However, a factor still up in the air is whether Senate Parliamentarian will allow such provisions to be included. The Parliamentarian must agree that the immigration regularizations has enough budgetary impact to warrant inclusion in a reconciliation bill. In recent months, this individual did not permit an increase in the minimum wage to be included in a similar reconciliation. As such, while we are hopeful for change in the immigration law that will positively impact many of our clients and community members, we remain humbly skeptical.