Dems push Biden on amnesty for illegals before possible Trump victory
Democratic lawmakers are pushing President Biden to grant amnesty to undocumented migrants before they can be deported by a potential future Trump administration.
"We urge your Administration to take all available actions to streamline pathways to lawful status for undocumented immigrants, providing certainty to the American businesses, communities, and families who rely on them," reads a letter to Biden on Wednesday that was signed by over 80 lawmakers.
The letter comes as the White House has continued to fight the ongoing border crisis, which has seen over 7 million illegal immigrants cross the border with the U.S. since Biden took office in 2021.
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While the administration has promised steps aimed at stemming the flow, the more than 80 lawmakers in the letter urged the president to instead look forward and hedge against the potential of a victory for former President Trump in November’s election, arguing the president needs to take concrete steps to protect the legal status of millions of undocumented migrants.
"Deporting all such individuals — as former President Donald Trump has threatened to do if reelected — would devastate the American economy and destroy American families," the letter reads. "Alternatively, streamlining pathways for undocumented immigrants with no criminal history and deep ties to the United States to obtain parole or a lawful immigration status would provide stability to their families, require them to pay taxes, and to check in with the U.S. government regularly."
Among the steps the president should take is a streamlining of the process DACA recipients, those who entered the country illegally as children, can use to update their legal status, the lawmakers argue. Other steps include permitting the spouses of Americans to work while green card applications are pending and creating a process to grant parole to the undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens.
Trump has promised to deport millions of undocumented migrants if he regains the presidency next year, going so far as to say he would use the National Guard to help carry out the massive operation.
"If I thought things were getting out of control, I would have no problem using the military," the former president said in an interview with Time magazine last month. "We have to have safety in our country. We have to have law and order in our country. And whichever gets us there, but I think the National Guard will do the job."
The possibility of another Trump term has seemingly become more realistic in recent months, with a Wall Street Journal poll last month showing the former president with a lead in six out of the seven key battleground states.
Trump held a lead over Biden in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and North Carolina, the poll found, with only Wisconsin, where the president held a three-point lead, being the only outlier.
That possibility has some lawmakers pushing the president for action now, with the letter concluding that doing so would "provide much needed relief for undocumented immigrants and the American businesses, families, and communities that rely upon them."
Neither the White House nor the Biden campaign immediately responded to Fox News Digital requests for comment.