This Issue: Georgia election likely ensures confirmation of open-borders Mayorkas as DHS head

Democrats Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff defeated Republican incumbent Senators Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue during Georgia's special elections this week, shifting the power of the Senate into the hands of the Democrats.

There are two immediate impacts as a result of the shift in power:

First, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) will now control the Senate floor. That means Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) will no longer serve as a firewall for bad immigration bills passed by the House, which will continue to be led by Democrats and Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

Second, President-elect Joe Biden will no longer have to negotiate with Republicans on agency heads and judges. While Biden would have faced an uphill battle in his nomination of Alejandro Mayorkas to lead the Department of Homeland Security and the execution of the nation's immigration laws, Mayorkas will now be easily confirmed unless some Senate Democrats take issue with his ethical problems.

See Rosemary's quote to the press this week in the right column to read more about why Mayorkas is a poor choice to lead DHS.

FILIBUSTER?

Our greatest friend in blocking bad immigration policy will be the Senate filibuster.

The filibuster rule does not apply to confirming presidential appointments and judicial nominations. But the rule does require 60 votes to move legislation, with the exception of budget reconciliation bills.

Budget reconciliation is a special process that can be used once a year to pass legislation related to budget and spending matters. Republican leaders used budget reconciliation to pass Trump's tax cuts in 2017, and Democrats used it in 2010 to pass Obamacare.

Since budget reconciliation is limited to monetary issues, technically it can't be used by Senate Democrats to increase legal immigration. But it could be used to extend taxpayer benefits, including food stamps and health care, to illegal aliens.

Increasing legal immigration and/or passing a permanent amnesty for illegal aliens would be subject to the current Senate filibuster rules, however those rules could be changed by Senate Democrats.

Democratic Senators Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Mark Kelly and Krysten Sinema of Arizona, and Dianne Feinstein of California are a few of the Democrats who have spoken out against ending the filibuster. President-elect Biden also said on the campaign trail that he opposes ending the filibuster.

But pressure from immigration expansionists on the left could force moderate Democrats to eliminate the filibuster or expand the list of exemptions.

What to expect?

We've known all along that a Biden Administration would pose a great threat to immigration policies that serve the national interest. But a number of hurdles stood in the way of Congress passing bad immigration legislation.

Republican control of the Senate floor and the threat of a filibuster are big hurdles to lose. But big hurdles still stand in the way of those who want to increase immigration.

Regardless, we anticipated a major battle over immigration to occur in during the 117th Congress. We still anticipate that battle; but it may be a little bit harder, which is why we'll need an outpouring of public opposition to any bad legislation that may begin to move through Congress.

While it is unlikely we will move Democrats back to the immigration positions recommended by the late Barbara Jordan under President Clinton, we are committed to reminding Democrats of their past positions in support of protecting American workers from mass immigration. With your help, we can make strides in that direction.

After 68 Senators voted to pass the Gang of 8 bill in 2013, the media said it was "inevitable". But Americans across the country, including tens of thousands of NumbersUSA activists, spoke out and stopped it in its tracks. We can do it again with anything proposed by Congress that would pose a significant threat to American workers and quality of life.

Chris Chmielenski NumbersUSA Deputy Director