Border GOP lawmakers urge Dem leaders to pull immigration provisions from spending bill, citing migrant crisis

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FIRST ON FOX: Republican lawmakers from border states on Wednesday wrote to Democratic congressional leaders, urging them to pull controversial immigration provisions -- including amnesty for illegal immigrants -- from the Democratic spending bill before Congress, warning that it will exacerbate the crisis at the southern border.

The letter, led by Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, and signed on to by every House Republican lawmaker in a border state, tells Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that "we cannot afford to create new incentives to illegal migration in the midst of this crisis."

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There were more than 192,000 migrant encounters in September, down only slightly from the more than 200,000 encountered in July and August. It means that more than 1.7 million migrants were encountered in FY 2021.

Democrats have been preparing a number of proposals to grant legal status to illegal immigrants already in the country -- although they are facing pushback from the Senate parliamentarian, who has so far ruled that two proposals are inappropriate for a budget reconciliation bill. All would involve giving protection or a pathway to citizenship to millions of illegal immigrants.

While they would not directly affect new illegal immigrants coming across the border, Republicans have warned that the discussion of large-scale amnesties or mass use of parole, as well as opening up other benefits to illegal immigrants by removing the need for a social security number for child tax credits, provides yet another pull factor drawing migrants north.

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"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 outcomes without much difference and will give even more reason for people from all over the world to rush our southern border," they say. 

While the letter received signatures from all GOP lawmakers in border states, aides said no Democrat accepted the invitation to sign on.

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"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," they argue. 

"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."

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The letter comes a day after the Congressional Budget Office determined that the first plan put forward by Democrats, which would grant pathways to citizenship for multiple groups of illegal immigrants, would increase the federal deficit by $565.4 billion over the 2032-2041 period.

Oct 2021: A woman making up one of the thousands of migrants coming north as part of the migrant caravan.

The House bill currently drafted includes an alternative plan that would grant a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants already in the country before 2010.

This week, Democrats are presenting a "Plan C" which would allow expanded parole powers -- used on a case-by-case basis for "urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit" -- to grant legal status, including work permits, to an estimated 8 million illegal immigrants for up to 10 years. 

As Republicans objected to the provisions, Democrats in the Senate were urging Democratic leadership to make sure they stayed in.

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"Last week we were encouraged when the House included provisions to provide a pathway to citizenship for millions of undocumented immigrants," Sens. Bob Menendez, D-NJ, Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., Ben Ray Lujan, D-NM, and Alex Padilla, D-Calif., said in a statement.

"And today, we strongly urge Senate and House leadership to act boldly and continue fighting for the broadest legal protections possible to fully unleash the economic might of the undocumented community. That’s the only way we can fully Build Back Better and transform the lives of millions of hardworking people and their families."