Sens. Casey and Cardin Indicate Immigration Reform Funding Exists in Democrats’ $3.5 Trillion Budget Agreement

The U.S. Capitol grounds, July 10, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/José Luis Magana)

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) and Ben Cardin (D-MD) both expressed confidence last week that funding exists for immigration reform in the $3.5 trillion dollar budget agreement unveiled by Senate Democrats on Capitol Hill. 

“I’m certainly for immigration reform,” Cardin told Latino Rebels on Thursday. “I think it’s in the agreement, the dollars it involves.”

Asked if he could provide any details about immigration reform components included in the budget agreement, Senator Casey told Latino Rebels, “It was indicated that there’s funding but at this point, you might know more.”

“Generally we’re still not at a point where we’re getting a lot of information about component parts,” Casey added. “I think we’re just getting to that point now where we’re getting a sense of what the broad strokes are beyond just the $ 3.5 trillion.”

On his first day in office, President Biden announced that the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021 was being formally delivered to Congress. The day after, Sen. Bob Menendez, the Senate’s lead sponsor of the bill, spoke about the possibilities to pass immigration reform this legislative session. Nonetheless, any movement on a major immigration bill has stalled on partisan grounds.

When asked by Latino Rebels on Thursday about how immigration reform might be included in Democrats’ budget agreement, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) said, “Right now the plan is a topline dollar number. Then the [Senate] Judiciary Committee will take jurisdiction and work through the details and make a recommendation to the rest of the [Democratic] caucus.”

“We’re all trying to work together on the overall approach” to the budget agreement, Warren told reporters, adding, “I think we’re all rowing in the same direction.”

Democratic Senators Chris Murphy (CT), Cory Booker (NJ), Ben Ray Luján (NM), Brian Schatz (HI), Jon Tester (MT), and Amy Klobuchar (MN) all indicated to Latino Rebels they support including immigration reform in the budget agreement.

The Senate is back in session Monday at 3 p.m. ET.

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Pablo Manríquez is Latino Rebels’ Washington correspondent. He is an immigrant from Santiago de Chile with a political science degree from the University of Notre Dame. The Washington Post calls him “an Internet folk hero.” Twitter: @PabloReports.