Democrats are waiting for the decision on whether immigration can be in Build Back Better

He Member of Parliament for the Senate He considered the arguments of Democratic and Republican aides on Wednesday morning over whether immigration provisions could be included in a massive tax and spending bill that would expand the country’s social security network.

The process the parliamentarian is going through is known as “Byrd Bath“It is named after former Democratic Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia, who invented the rule to prevent either side from abusing the reconciliation process.

The process will decide whether Democrats will be able to pass a form of legalization for undocumented immigrants, a priority for the Biden administration. Elizabeth MacDonoughThe role of Senate MP means advising the House on how its rules, protocols and precedents should be applied as Democrats and the White House find out what they can include in the massive tax and spending bill. known as the Best Reconstruction Act.

The bill would be passed through a process called budget conciliation, meaning the bill could be passed by a simple majority of 51 votes and It doesn’t take 60 votes to overcome an obstructionism. Reconciliation, however, has a set of strict rules, and provisions need to be reviewed to determine if they have an impact on the budget and not just “incident.”

In recent months, Democratic lawmakers have worked feverishly behind the scenes to include immigration in the massive economic bill. The proposed immigration provisions would be historic if passed, but the provisions will only provide temporary compensation to undocumented immigrants, not a path to citizenship as Democrats expected.

The House version of the economic bill includes language that would provide temporary protection against deportation and work permits to undocumented immigrants who entered the United States before January 2011 and meet a certain set of criteria. About 6.5 million people would be qualified, according to an analysis by the Congressional Budget Office.

The revision of the nation’s immigration laws has haunted Congress for decades, and with a slim majority, Democrats took advantage of reconciliation as a way forward. But that has also been a climb.

“Work permits and deportation protections under BBB legislation will benefit millions of immigrants who are American in all but paperwork and have increased for all of us during COVID and kept us fed. , they have kept us safe and kept our economy moving, “he said. Douglas Rivlin, a spokesman for America’s Voice, said in a statement this week.

The language approved in the House does not guarantee approval in the Senate, where the parliamentarian has already rejected two immigration proposals, although immigration advocates argue that the administration could still achieve a victory and reduce the proposal based on in the parliamentarian’s comments.

Democratic attendees say they don’t think this is the last chance to get some sort of immigration provisions if the Senate MP rules against the third attempt, but time is running out given that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has repeatedly said he wants the bill. to spend the Christmas holidays.

“The proposed immigration permits have been specifically designed to fit the rules of budget reconciliation. Senate Democrats may need to make adjustments to certain provisions that do not have an explicit budgetary impact based on their comments. , but that would not affect the essence of the proposal “. Kerri Talbot, deputy director of the Immigration Center, told reporters on Wednesday.

Talbot said another “Byrd bath” is expected in case adjustments need to be made to the Democrats’ immigration plan, stressing that it is a process.

“The final details matter, but we’re confident that immigration assistance will be included in Build Back Better,” Talbot said.