91 House Dems call on Senate to expand immigration protections in Biden spending bill
By Rafael Bernal - 11/22/21 07:54 PM EST
Nearly half of all House Democrats on Monday called on their Senate colleagues to augment the immigration protections in the House-passed Build Back Better (BBB) Act before the upper chamber votes on it.
In a letter led by Democratic Reps. Jesús García (Ill.), Lou Correa (Calif.), Adriano Espaillat (N.Y.), Grace Meng (N.Y.) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.), the members urged Senate leaders to reinstate a pathway to citizenship in the Senate version of President Biden's signature social spending and climate change bill.
"The House version of the BBB Act limits relief for certain undocumented individuals to a five-year parole status, yet another form of temporary reprieve. We now write to urge you and the rest of our colleagues in the Senate to reinstate a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers, TPS [temporary protected status] holders, farm workers, and essential workers in the Senate’s version of the reconciliation bill," wrote the lawmakers.
García, Correa and Espaillat were dubbed "the three amigos" for their push to include a pathway to citizenship in the House version of the nearly $2 trillion spending bill.
Their entreaties were rebuffed, despite no Democrats coming out publicly against stronger immigration protections in the bill.
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https://thehill.com/latino/582739-91-house-dems-call-on-senate-to-expand-immigration-protections-in-biden-spending-bill
