By JOHN BINDER
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-IL) said there is not enough support in Congress to pass President Joe Biden’s amnesty plan for millions of illegal aliens.
Last month, House and Senate Democrats introduced the Biden plan — known as H.R. 1177 & S. 348 — which would give amnesty to the roughly 11 to 22 million illegal aliens living in the United States while doubling annual legal immigration to the country, flooding the labor market with more foreign competition for the nation’s nearly 17 million jobless Americans.
During an interview with CNN on Monday, Durbin said passing Biden’s amnesty through Congress is unlikely at the moment.
“I don’t see a means for reaching that,” Durbin told CNN when asked about the amnesty. “I want it. I think we are much more likely to deal with discreet elements.”
“I think Speaker Pelosi has discovered that she doesn’t have support for the comprehensive bill in the House,” Durbin continued. “And it indicates where it is in the Senate as well.”
Nearly 30 House Democrats who are in vulnerable seats ahead of the 2022 midterm elections have been largely silent about Biden’s amnesty plan. Among other things, the amnesty would increase legal immigration levels and import a foreign population the size of California to the U.S. by 2031.
Durbin said the Senate Judiciary Committee is unlikely to move on any immigration-related legislation until April.
This week, House Democrats are planning to vote on two amnesties — one that will provide amnesty to millions of illegal aliens who are enrolled or the beneficiaries of certain programs like the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) or Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and another that would give amnesty to illegal alien farm workers.
The illegal farm worker amnesty plan has garnered the support of 10 House Republicans so far, including Reps. Elisa Stefanik (R-NY), Mark Amodei (R-NV), Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL), Doug LaMalfa (R-CA), Cathy McMorris Rogers (R-WA), Mike Simpson (R-ID), Fred Upton (R-MI), David Valadao (R-CA), and Jefferson Van Drew (R-NJ).
The amnesty would legalize about 1.5 million illegal aliens who are currently holding U.S. agriculture jobs, cut the wages of future foreign workers who arrive on H-2A visas to work in agriculture, and create a new visa program so foreign workers can compete directly against Americans in the labor market. Already, employers can import an unlimited number of foreign H-2A workers to take U.S. jobs.