Democrats warned to deny backing 'amnesty' ahead of midterms: report

Democrats are reportedly being warned to deny that they favor "open borders" and "amnesty" on the thorny subject of immigration and the ongoing crisis at the southern border, as they gear up for what could be a difficult midterm fight for many candidates.

Politico reports that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is recommending strategies to endangered lawmakers as they hope to avoid a barrage of attacks from Republicans on a variety of issues from defunding the police to critical race theory, in addition to immigration.

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Included in the documents Politico viewed were moves to rebut GOP talking points. The strategy reportedly included this tip: Democratic should deny support for "open borders or amnesty" and instead talk about their efforts to keep the border safe.

That might prove to be a tricky task, since Democrats have by and large supported administration efforts to dramatically roll back Trump-era border protections like border wall construction, Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) and Title 42 public health protections.

Meanwhile, many Democrats have also backed a number of congressional efforts to grant amnesty for millions of illegal immigrants. Democrats pushed for an immigration plan approved within days of President Biden's inauguration, which eventually became the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021, and was headlined by an eight-year path to citizenship for illegal immigrants already in the country.

But with no Republican support in the Senate and a 50/50 chamber, the effort faded away. Instead, Democrats included various forms of amnesty in their proposals for the Build Back Better Act -- which could be passed via the budget reconciliation process and therefore not be stopped by a Republican filibuster.

The bill outlined a variety of proposals for amnesty or protections for illegal immigrants, in addition to sweeping changes to legal immigration. The first of those plans would grant a pathway to citizenship for DACA and Temporary Protected Status recipients, farmworkers and those deemed "essential workers." However, the plan was rejected by the Senate parliamentarian in September, who ruled that it was inappropriate for a budget bill as the measure dwarfed its budgetary impact.

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Lawmakers then proposed a "Plan B" to update a registry to allow amnesty for illegal immigrants who arrived before 2010 -- which was also rejected by the parliamentarian. Finally, a much more limited Plan C would allow expanded parole powers to grant legal status, including work permits, to an estimated 8 million illegal immigrants for up to 10 years. That too met with the disapproval of the parliamentarian.

Some Democrats pushed for the parliamentarian to be overruled, but ultimately the effort stalled after Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said he would not back the bill, having already previously poured cold water on the chances of him supporting amnesty measures.

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Meanwhile, the crisis at the southern border has continued with little sign of slowdown. More than 178,840 migrant encounters took place at the southern border in December and there are indications that the numbers could heat up again later this year.

While the Biden administration has claimed the numbers are fueled by "root causes" like violence, corruption and poverty in Central America, Republicans have blamed Biden policies instead -- a message they are likely to take with them on the campaign trail.