(Molly Bruns, Headline USA) A “bipartisan group” of senators is attempting to re-vamp the United States immigration system, with Republicans on the board appearing to lean more towards granting amnesty, Roll Call reported.
The senators said they discussed a variety of topics, in what will be a “series of ongoing meetings,” according to Thom Tillis, R-N.C.
This push is coming less than a year after Democrats attempted to grant amnesty to millions of undocumented immigrants through a reconciliation bill.
Senators appear to be hopeful with the restarting of these discussions as midterms approach:
“Look, I’m first of all encouraged that we met,” Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., said. “We put a lot of time and effort into last year trying to find a way forward. It came and went. We hadn’t met in a while, talked for a while.”
Padilla also stated that while no specifics were discussed, they made a “commitment to just resume these conversations in earnest.”
Partisan ideas of border security have made it difficult to come to agreements across the aisle. The Biden administration is currently under fire for lifting Title 42, especially from governors of border states.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, brought up the matter of Title 42 at the meeting, saying that “until we deal with the Title 42 issue,” which he clarified meant replacing it with other border controls, “it’s not going to be possible to move forward on other things that we agree on.”
Other Texas officials have made aggressive moves to combat the influx of migrants at the southern border, with some taking legal action against the administration.
Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit against the Biden, challenging the ending of Title 42, while Gov. Greg Abbott is busing illegal immigrants directly to Biden’s D.C. doorstep.
“We are sending them to the United States’s capital, where the Biden administration will be able to more immediately address the needs of the people that they are allowing to come across our border.”
It is unclear if any of people who are actively involved with border security are involved in the discussions of border security.
