Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) says Democrats are “hugely disappointed” in Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough for ruling that Democrats cannot include their amnesty plan in a filibuster-proof budget reconciliation package.
On Sunday evening, MacDonough ruled the amnesty plan can likely not be included in a budget reconciliation package — a filibuster-proof maneuver that only needs majority support in the Senate.
During a press call, Menendez said he and fellow Senate Democrats are “hugely disappointed” in the decision but that they would be going back to her with various other amnesty proposals that they hope to include in a budget reconciliation.
“We were all hugely disappointed on the decision the Parliamentarian gave last night, but for me at least, this really does not mean this process is over,” Menendez said:
She gave her view on only one approach on including a pathway to citizenship in reconciliation and it is my expectation that my colleagues and I will be going back to the parliamentarian with other options in the coming days. This is not an end. I certainly intend to keep working until we get to a ‘yes’ and we’re not going to take no for an answer. [Emphasis added]
As we speak, there are discussions underway including with the various groups represented on this call today as to the next steps we’re considering. [Emphasis added]
Among his arguments, Menendez claimed amnesty is necessary and a vital part of economic policy because he says it will increase gross domestic product (GDP) by more than $1.4 trillion over the course of 10 years.
In March, as Breitbart News reported, Menendez touted that the nation’s biggest banks have been in full support of amnesty for illegal aliens, as it would flood the U.S. workforce with new foreign workers for hire, as well as millions of more consumers and housing clients.
“Good news for my colleagues who won’t take any action unless their friends on Wall Street give them the OK: I asked the CEOs of our nation’s six largest banks if inclusive immigration reform would help us build a robust, stronger economy. They all said yes,” Menendez wrote in a post.
While some amnesty advocates have suggested that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) should oust MacDonough, Menendez warned against such a move:
The bottom line is we’re going back to the parliamentarian with different options … hopefully that will produce a result. The questions being raised here, with all respect, Sen. Schumer does not just get rid of the parliamentarian if he chooses. That has to be a vote of the Senate and that would take 51 votes … I think it’s not necessarily constructive at this point.
Democrats, for months, had hoped to slip an amnesty for illegal aliens enrolled and eligible for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, those employed on United States farms, those with Temporary Protected Status (TPS), and those deemed “essential workers” into their $3.5 trillion budget package.
In August, a budget resolution framework put forth by Democrats revealed the amnesty would cost American taxpayers at least $107 billion.
Peer-reviewed research by economist Christoph Albert acknowledges that “as immigrants accept lower wages, they are preferably chosen by firms and therefore have higher job finding rates than natives, consistent with evidence found in U.S. data.”
Albert’s research also finds immigration “raises competition” for native-born Americans in the labor market. Similarly, research from June 2020 on U.S. wages and the labor market shows that a continuous flow of mass immigration exerts “stronger labor market competition” on newly arrived immigrants than even native-born Americans, thus contributing to the wage gap.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO), likewise, has repeatedly noted mass immigration cuts Americans’ wages.
In 2013, CBO analysis stated that the “Gang of Eight” amnesty plan would “slightly” push down wages for the American workers. A 2020 CBO analysis stated “immigration has exerted downward pressure on the wages of relatively low-skilled workers who are already in the country, regardless of their birthplace.”
Every year, 1.2 million legal immigrants receive green cards to permanently resettle in the U.S. In addition, 1.4 million foreign nationals are given visas to take American jobs, while hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens enter the U.S. annually.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.