NILC Calls on Senate Democrats to Disregard the Parliamentarian’s Recommendation and Deliver on a Pathway to Citizenship

WASHINGTON — Marielena Hincapié, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center and the NILC Immigrant Justice Fund – and the co-chair of the Biden-Sanders Unity Task Force on Immigration during the 2020 presidential election – issued the following statement in response to ongoing negotiations on the budget reconciliation package:

“As negotiations continue about a framework agreement to advance the Build Back Better Act, it is imperative that any final bill include a pathway to citizenship for as many people as possible. Immigrant communities have waited 35 years for Congress to finally pass long overdue permanent protections. This bill represents a once in a generation opportunity to finally make this a reality. An advisory recommendation from the parliamentarian, an unelected Senate staffer, should not stand in the way of achieving this goal.

“The parliamentarian’s recommendation ignored the clear and significant impact providing green cards to undocumented immigrants would have on the federal budget, and Senate Democrats are not bound by it. Instead, they should use the procedures available to them under longstanding Senate rules to disregard the parliamentarian’s recommendation in order to include a pathway to citizenship in this bill.

“Immigrants are an essential part of our communities, not only as our family members and neighbors, but also as the people who continue to show up day after day to keep our country going during this pandemic. It’s time for our elected leaders to show up for them.”

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