Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) led a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Wednesday pressing them to cut amnesty for illegal aliens from the so-called “Build Back Better” multi-trillion-dollar President Joe Biden spending plan currently before Congress.
The Republican members wrote to Pelosi and Schumer:
Our nation is facing the largest border security crisis in history, as evidenced by the 213,593 illegal migrants encountered by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at our southern border in July and the staggering 1.73 million encountered this fiscal year—the highest ever recorded. These encounters, however, do not paint the full picture of endangered migrants, abused and exploited by cartels for profit, and of Americans, especially in border states who work through desperation to manage car chases, break-ins, cut fences, lost livestock, and increased crime. They don’t tell the story of an overworked CBP, hundreds of thousands of often dangerous ‘got-aways,’ or the thousands of pounds of drugs – especially fentanyl – that is poisoning and killing our youth. We cannot afford to create new incentives to illegal migration in the midst of this crisis.
Every U.S. House Republican from every border state—Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, and California—signed the letter. No Democrats, including most notably border state vulnerable Democrats like Reps. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) and Tom O’Halleran (D-AZ), signed the letter, despite being offered the opportunity to do so. Frankly, Cuellar and O’Halleran refusing to sign this letter directly undercuts the presentation they make of themselves to their constituents as somehow being “moderate” Democrats, and if they vote for this agenda containing these radical amnesty and immigration provisions, they will forever surrender that claim of being reasonable Democrats—something both Roy and former Trump White House senior adviser Stephen Miller noted in comments about the letter.
The letter continued by noting that “unfortunately” H.R. 5376—also known as the “Build Back Better Act”—“includes roughly $100 billion for provisions related to immigration, including amnesty.” The Republican members wrote:
This would be particularly harmful given that past amnesty efforts were coupled with enforcement, which this bill fails to address in the slightest. Additionally, any provision providing for legal status to illegal immigrants to address objections offered by the Senate parliamentarian, including by expanding parole authority – building upon the roughly 30,000 paroles granted since August – will provide an outcome without much difference and will give even more reason for people from all over the world to rush our southern border. Moreover, in addition to other concerns, this bill seeks to expand benefits to illegal immigrants. For example, the bill eliminates the need for a social security number to demonstrate eligibility for child tax credits, providing an enormous incentive for illegal immigration.
The letter concluded by pressing Pelosi and Schumer to formally strip all the immigration insanity and amnesty provisions from the proposal:
This border crisis afflicts the entire nation and all its communities, but as representatives of southern border states at the epicenter of the crisis, our communities are bearing the brunt of it. We therefore urge you in the strongest possible terms to remove from the legislation any policies that will incentivize more illegal immigration, including any form of legal status, tax credits, or other benefits for illegal immigrants.
Democrats have thus far failed to secure the votes in their own conferences on both sides of Capitol Hill to pass the Biden agenda plan, despite having majorities in both chambers of Congress all year. But in the aftermath of brutal election losses for Democrats nationwide—particularly in Virginia—on Tuesday night, Democrat leaders have redoubled efforts to jam the controversial package through Congress as soon as possible. It remains to be seen what happens next, but interestingly, if vulnerable Democrats like Cuellar or O’Halleran—or others from other vulnerable districts and states across America vote for this with these amnesty provisions in them—it is highly unlikely such a move would not seriously detract from their reelection efforts, further imperiling Democrat chances of holding majorities in Congress.
Final Rep. Roy BBB Amnesty ltr 11.03.21 by Breitbart News on Scribd