A group of congressional Democrats called Wednesday for immediate efforts to curb the Trump administration’s sweeping immigration enforcement operation and “bring sanity” to an immigration system that Donald Trump said after his party’s midterm drubbing had been “too tough” on some aspects.
A little more than a week after the midterm elections in which the U.S. president’s tough immigration crackdown fueled a voter backlash against Republicans, some incumbent and newly elected Democrats gathered outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington to argue for a bipartisan approach to reforms — even as they prepare to take control of both legislative chambers next year.
“I have very ambitious dreams and hopes for immigration reform. But I’m also a pragmatist. And since we have — and continue to have — Donald Trump in the White House, and without a supermajority in the Senate, we need Republican support. So any comprehensive immigration reform must be bipartisan,” said Rep. Veronica Escobar, a Texas Democrat whose district includes El Paso, on the U.S.-Mexico border.
The group’s news conference included progressive and moderate Democrats from the Senate and House, in a show of unity. Many participants held signs reading “legal pathways for long-term immigrants.”
The only Republican congresswoman scheduled, Florida Rep. Maria Salazar, who has leveled criticism at the president on immigration that is rare on her side of the aisle, did not show up.
“There is still time this session to reach an agreement,” said U.S. Sen. Ruben Gallego of Arizona. “We should try to work, even if we can’t get something this session, the next session for a deal. We owe it to this country. We owe it to our friends.”
He added: “Republicans say we will have immigration reform as soon as we have a safe and secure border. We’ve already done that. We’ve done the work. Now let’s figure out how to scale our immigration problem. Let’s figure out how to keep families together.”
The remarks follow Trump’s aggressive campaign of mass expulsions and ruthless measures that dramatically slowed border crossings, upon his return to the White House in January 2025. His Democratic predecessor Joe Biden saw dramatically high levels of migration at the border and, despite his sometimes tough approach, the subject of migration has become a high-risk political topic for Democrats, who have gained a reputation for being too soft on the issue.
Since then, Trump’s second term has also seen U.S. citizens and immigrants killed by immigration enforcement agents, record numbers of people detained in often squalid prison conditions, and highly visible violent tactics inside the country that have led many voters to criticize some of his policies or at least the way they are implemented.
The president’s mixed messages after the midterms included a tentative offer to strike a deal with Democrats to help longtime undocumented, law-abiding immigrants in the United States avoid his crackdown. But it stood in stark contrast to his actions thus far, and shortly after the comments were recorded for television, he named Stephen Miller as his new chief of staff, despite being the architect and orchestrator of Trump’s most draconian white nationalist immigration policies.
Trump also indicated that he intends to often use his presidential veto to block Democratic-backed laws if they pass Congress.
At the same time, experts expect an avalanche of investigations and oversight hearings from Democrats next year in an effort to bring accountability.
But lawmakers said Wednesday they don’t want to wait that long to start improving the immigration system, pointing to two existing bipartisan bills that they say could provide a practical starting point. There was no detailed discussion Wednesday about how to abolish or even significantly reform Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), although it has been a hot topic on the campaign trail.
The first put forward by lawmakers who spoke Wednesday, the American Dream and Promise Act, aims to provide legal pathways to a green card for undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children, colloquially known as “Dreamers,” as well as for people granted temporary protections to remain in the United States while their home countries experience serious unrest.
Not only has Trump not proposed such a path, but his administration has stopped recognizing many temporary legal statuses granted under previous Democratic administrations and has deported or attempted to deport many people with documented or long-term legal options.
Lawmakers presented the bill Wednesday as an opportunity to act even before the new Democratic-controlled Congress is sworn in next January, asking for Trump’s help in getting across the finish line.
“We can all agree that the immigration system is broken. But we can start on the path to building a foundation today with the Dream and Promise Act, and move forward next year when we take over to undertake even more reforms,” said Texas Rep. Sylvia Garcia.
Additionally, the Dignity Act is the only bipartisan, comprehensive immigration reform bill introduced in more than a decade, with 35 Democratic and 20 Republican sponsors. It combines strict border security measures with some protections for undocumented people.
Salazar is the main sponsor of the bill. But Escobar, one of the Dignity Act’s strongest advocates and co-author, said she and her colleagues plan to reshape it in the coming weeks before reintroducing it in the next legislative session.
“If we can pass this bill in the next Congress, we can do even more in 2028 to expand and expand what we can do for immigrants, immigrant families, our economy and our communities,” she said. “We need to make sense of the immigration system. We can do it. We will.”
Meanwhile, Rep. Henry Cuellar, another Texas border-area Democrat, hopes to chair the House Appropriations Homeland Security subcommittee in the new year — and thus control funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
He said he has a list of safeguards to return ICE, which is part of the DHS agency, to its role before Trump’s second term.
Gn usa
