Senate parliamentarian rules out Democrats' immigration Plan B
By Jordain Carney - 09/29/21 02:50 PM EDT
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.
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 has a real challenge,” Durbin said about the push to get a change in the registry date.
more
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/574534-senate-parliamentarian-rules-out-democrats-immigration-plan-b
