House Democrats unveil immigration, border reform plan after crisis proves to be pivotal election issue

A group of House Democrats is unveiling their own plan for border security and immigration reform, another sign the left is gradually growing to embrace discussions of how to solve the U.S. migrant crisis.

The New Democrat Coalition, a caucus of nearly 100 lawmakers that bills itself as “center-left,” revealed a framework that called for increased manpower at the southern border and within immigration courts, as well as more pathways for legal residency and citizenship for workers, “Dreamers” and others.

Among other measures, the plan would permanently authorize a program to allow international medical students studying in the U.S. to legally stay in the country after completing their degrees. It would also expand legal pathways for migrant farmworkers and establish a new non-immigrant work visa category for U.S. industries experiencing personnel shortages.

It also would include a legal pathway for people who came here illegally but have been working and paying taxes for at least five years, provided they pay a fine and pass a criminal background check.

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New Democrat Coalition Chair Annie Kuster unveiled her group’s plan for an immigration and border security overhaul. (Getty Images)

On the enforcement front, the plan called for increasing the number of border agents at ports of entry by at least 500 and increasing some Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers’ pay.

The Democrat framework would also create an independent judiciary system for immigration courts and increase the number of judges to cut down on the current backlog of cases.

To manage the flow of migrants coming to the U.S. to be processed for asylum, it would also create “new regional processing centers” in South and Central America where migrants are granted interviews and their cases begin to be taken up. They would be considered for lawful entry to “participating nations” like Canada and Spain, in addition to the U.S.

It’s part of an overall shift among figures in the Democratic Party that’s seen top mainstream liberals concede the need to overhaul the U.S. immigration system.

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Rep.-elect Tom Suozzi won a critical victory for Democrats largely by shunning progressive politics and focusing on the border and local issues. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

On Tuesday, Rep.-elect Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., won a closely watched special election to succeed expelled Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., after empathizing with voter concerns about the border.

Both parties funneled millions of dollars into the race, but Suozzi delivered the critical victory for his party – and shrunk the House GOP majority – by running a campaign that largely shunned progressive ideals.

“Their candidate ran like a Republican. He sounded like a Republican talking about the border and immigration because everybody knows that’s the top issue,” Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said of Suozzi during a Wednesday press conference.

A recent Fox News poll found that nearly eight in 10 voters think the border is a significant issue – 34% said it was an emergency and 45% said it was a major problem.

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President Biden has increasingly referred to the border situation as a “crisis.” (Jim Watson)

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President Biden himself has noticeably sharpened his rhetoric on the border, particularly amid talks between the Senate and White House over a now-defunct plan to provide aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan while overhauling U.S. border security.

He’s called the border situation a “crisis” multiple times and even vowed to shut down the border if Congress granted him the power to do so, which angered his progressive allies.

Biden said the border was in “crisis” in April 2021, but the White House walked back his statement at the time.