House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said on Sunday that Democrats will prioritize amnesty for “patriotic” Dreamers and “take the first step” toward a broader comprehensive amnesty bill in the next Congress.
Pelosi and Rep. John Sarbanes (D-MD) co-wrote a Sunday Washington Post op-ed in which they outlined their party’s priorities for the upcoming Congress, and they vowed to “pass the Dream Act to protect the patriotic young undocumented immigrants who came here as children, and take the first step toward comprehensive immigration reform.”
They discussed plans to restore democracy by reforming ethics laws, reining in “dark money,” pushing more campaign finance reform, and strengthening voting rights legislation. Pelosi and Sarbanes revealed that Democrats also intend to lower “health-care costs and out-of-control prices for prescription drugs,” raise the minimum wage, pass the Equality Act, and push more gun control.
Pelosi, who will win her party’s nomination later this week to be the next Speaker, has been working feverishly behind the scenes to lock up the 218 votes she needs on the House floor to get back her Speakership by championing issues—like amnesty—that are important to the party’s various constituencies.
Days after the 2018 midterm elections, Pelosi revealed that she instructed Democrats not to pick fights with President Donald Trump on immigration to better their odds of winning. After Democrats took back the House, Pelosi then said that “now we can talk about” comprehensive amnesty legislation.
Pelosi has also praised the families of Dreamers for bringing them illegally into the United States and has said Dreamers “embody the best of our nation.” She also filibustered for more than eight hours on the House floor earlier in the year for legislation to protect Dreamers from deportation in February’s government spending bill.