Democrats Hitching Immigration Plans to Tax and Spending Bill
- Party remains sharply divided over extent of overhaul
- Even with agreement, procedural rules could block effort
Migrants are processed by U.S. Border Patrol agents after illegally crossing the border over the Rio Grande River in Roma, Texas.
Photographer: Eric Thayer/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Democrats are attempting to give new life to their stalled plans for changes to the nation’s immigration system by opening the way for an overhaul in a broad measure that will carry major portions of President Joe Biden’s agenda.
The Senate Budget Committee agreed this week to include immigration policy, long a divisive issue even among Democrats, in its $3.5 trillion fiscal blueprint, which the Senate plans to vote on this month. That will set up passage in the Senate later this year of a budget package with only Democratic votes -- bypassing any GOP filibuster.