Senate parliamentarian rules out Democrats' immigration plan B to legalize millions of undocumented immigrants

The Hill ^ | 09/29/2021 | JORDAIN CARNEY

[SeekAndFind]

The Senate parliamentarian has nixed Democrats' back-up plan for getting immigration reform into a sweeping spending bill, handing them a second setback.

Democrats had pitched parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough on legalizing millions of undocumented immigrants by making a change to the date for when undocumented immigrants within the United States can apply to adjust their legal status.

But MacDonough told Democrats that the option was a non-starter, according to a copy of the guidance obtained by The Hill. Democrats are pursuing other back-up plans with the Senate referee, according to a source familiar with Democrats' strategy.

Changing the registry date is a "weighty policy change and our analysis of this issue is thus largely the same" as for Democrats' previous proposal to provide legal permanent resident status to some immigrants, MacDonough told Democrats in her guidance.

"It's unfortunate. I disagree with her ... but we'll go to plan C," said Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.).

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said he was "disappointed" in the ruling and that it left them with "limited" options.

"[But] it still involved legal permanent residency; we knew we still had a real challenge," Durbin said about the push to get a change in the registry date.

Democrats had initially pitched MacDonough on using their spending bill to provide 8 million green cards to immigrants in four groups: "Dreamers," who came to the U.S. illegally as children; temporary protected status (TPS) holders; agricultural workers and other essential workers. But she rejected that earlier this month, saying that it was "not appropriate" for reconciliation, the budget process Democrats are using to bypass the filibuster on their spending bill.

Democrats then pitched to MacDonough a change to the registry date for certain undocumented immigrants and beneficiaries of humanitarian parole programs, essentially implementing a statute of limitations

[july4thfreedomfoundation]

Elizabeth MacDonough is a national hero (heroine).

[MNJohnnie]

Does the US Senate parliamentarian get secret service protection? This is going to drive the Democrat stormtrooper wing insane

[j.havenfarm]

Gotta love those libs. They never let little things like rules, laws, or the Constitution get in the way of what they want to do. Sure they’re wretched, lying, seditious commies, but they’ve got determination and moxie. You have to give them that. You can’t say the same for the GOP leadership

[Still Thinking]

How is it that a government employee repeatedly thwarts leftist schemes? Even SCOTUS only very rarely does that.

[garandgal]

And, just like that...yesterday...it was announced that she will be undergoing treatment for Stage 3 breast cancer.

[garandgal]

See my post 6. It just came out yesterday that she will be undergoing treatment for Stage 3 breast cancer. You can have all the protection in the world, and it wouldn’t matter if the kill shot was delivered via needle. Make of that what you will. Rush certainly came down with cancer at an inopportune time.

When medical researchers test cancer drugs on “lab rats”, do you think that they round up thousands of rats in the hopes that they find a few that already have cancer? Nope...subcutaneous injections.

I would have chastised myself 2 years ago for coming up with a ridiculous conspiracy theory...but now gonna have to move it into the “very possible” category.