Motivated by a sense of urgency regarding the southern border.
Senators from both sides of the political aisle have resumed efforts to revise the U.S. immigration system, following years of failed attempts to pass legislation on the divisive topic.
The panel consists of Dick Durbin of Illinois, Alex Padilla of California, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, and John Cornyn of Texas. They began by discussing which immigration bills could garner 60 votes, the minimum needed to overcome a filibuster in the evenly-divided Senate.
The senators said they discussed several topics, such as changes for migrant farmworkers critical to the U.S. economy and changes for foreign workers stuck in a yearslong green card backlog, as well as for their children who grew up on legal visas but “aged out” before their parents’ green cards became available.
While stressing the discussions are still in early stages, some senators expressed encouragement that talks had restarted, after a similar series of bipartisan immigration talks broke down last year.
The federal legislators are also discussing increasing border security.
Senator Cornyn said the impending rescission of Title 42 should give Congress “a sense of urgency” on immigration.
The meeting was the first in what is expected to be a series.
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For wisdom for senators negotiating immigration reform legislation.
- For officials in the Department of Homeland Security and immigration agencies as they deal with overwhelming numbers of migrants.
Sources: Roll Call, Bloomberg
