Washington, DC — Last night, as we started reviewing the long-awaited Senate supplemental bill text, Vanessa Cárdenas, Executive Director of America’s Voice, assessed:
“When poring over the Senate bill text, the most important letters are the ones overhanging this legislation: D.O.A. … Donald Trump and many other Republicans, particularly in the House, have already made clear their preference for immigration and the border as a political issue to run on, rather than an issue to be resolved.”
Before last night was over, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) drove home the truth of the above assessment, noting:
“I’ve seen enough. This bill is even worse than we expected … If this bill reaches the House, it will be dead on arrival.”
It’s not just House Republicans and MAGA commentators blasting the legislation, as the virulent negative reaction of Senator Steve Daines (R-MT), the NRSC chair this cycle, and Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) among other Senate GOPers made clear.
As soon as Tuesday, House Republicans are expected to hold a vote on the sham impeachment of DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Then on Wednesday of this week, the Senate legislative package is likely to face its first procedural vote in the Senate. According to Vanessa Cárdenas, Executive Director of America’s Voice, this split-screen programming is best viewed through the same lens:
“Most, if not all, Republicans aren’t serious about legislating immigration and border solutions or partnering on basic governance. Whether it’s their reaction to a Senate legislative package heavily tilted toward enforcement and the GOP’s supposed policy concerns or the House’s sham impeachment of Secretary Mayorkas, Republicans’ priority is driving a relentless and cynical nativist political message for 2024.
Demagoguing immigrants is core to Republicans’ electoral strategy, despite it failing to deliver in the last several election cycles. Their goal is to obstruct solutions as they have done for decades on immigration, which directly contributes to our outdated system and overly restricted legal immigration channels straining under 21st century migration realities.
Especially in light of the all-but-official acknowledgement that this legislation is dead, Democrats should revisit what real solutions and immigration reform really looks like and what the American people support: a balanced approach to legal immigration, border management, national security and legal status for people living and working here. This legislative package doesn’t meet that standard.”
