Amnesty Loses to the Rule of Law At a time of unprecedented breakdown and chaos at America’s southern border, Democrats were quietly hoping to include an amnesty package for some 8 million illegal immigrants in their filibuster-protected $3.5 trillion budget-reconciliation push. The move was an attempt to subvert one of the most fundamental aspects of the social contract, predicated on the dubious premise that sweeping immigration reforms were appropriate to the reconciliation’s intended fiscal purpose, carried out through a flouting of the institutional norms and decorum that Democrats have ostensibly held in such high esteem for the last four years. Thankfully, Senate parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough had the courage to stand firm against the effort, announcing in a three-page memo released to senators late Sunday evening that “provisions are not allowed in such bills if their budget effect is ‘merely incidental’ to their overall policy impact,” according to the Associated Press.
The amnesty proposal itself was one of the most radical in American history, granting green cards and a potential path to citizenship for 8 million out of the approximately 11 million illegal residents in the United States — including those with criminal records — and significantly expanding legal immigration without even a symbolic mention of border security, to boot. Were it not for MacDonough, all of that could well have passed under the radar without hearings, floor debates, or in-committee votes................
https://www.nationalreview.com/2021/09/amnesty-loses-to-the-rule-of-law/
