This Issue: Biden all in on amnesty in reconciliation bill, but his DHS slowly restoring some Trump tools on border.

It can be tempting to accept that we restrictionists are "on the wrong side of history" (a most ominous phrase), given the amount of money immigration expansionists are able to throw around, and the control of the political system and U.S. media that goes along with that.

Yet, even as President Biden was going all in on a massive amnesty this week, there were signs that the public's demands for border control are beginning to sway the Administration ever so slightly back toward Trump measures it had rejected.

Biden had a meeting with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus yesterday and the White House released a statement pledging:

strong support for including immigration reform in upcoming reconciliation legislation to enable Dreamers, TPS recipients, farmworkers and essential workers to gain long-awaited pathways to citizenship.

However, this came the same day it was reported that DHS would finish some sections of border barriers where construction was halted by President Biden, though the details were not disclosed.

That follows upon the announcement earlier in the week that DHS would expand the expedited removal process for "certain families" who illegally crossed the border, a process that worked so well for the Trump Administration. This allows the Biden Administration to expel these individuals much more quickly and prevents their release into the U.S.

Also this week, Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) signaled that she does not support the $3.5 trillion infrastructure plan proposed by Democratic leadership to go through on a budget reconciliation bill. Instead, she said she is working on a bi-partisan bill. This is important because a bi-partisan bill is less likely to contain an amnesty, or other major changes to the immigration system supported by the Biden White House. It is not clear how Sinema's announcement will directly affect the amnesty battle. All it takes to stop the amnesty in the budget is for one Democratic Senator to oppose. Sinema's willingness to speak out on one part of the reconciliation debate is a hopeful sign.

The main threat remains the possibility that the Democrats will pass a budget reconciliation budget bill containing a massive amnesty -- and who knows what else on immigration -- which would need only 50 votes. If the bill passes the House and all Democratic Senators are on board, Vice-President Kamala Harris could break the tie in the Senate and the bill would pass, even if all 50 Republican Senators oppose it, as expected.

It's unclear where other more moderate Senate Democrats stand. Senators like:

(Go to your Action Board or sign up at NumbersUSA.com to contact your Member of Congress to tell them No to Amnesty!)

When it comes to immigration, we know that too many Members of Congress won't do what's right by the American people if they think they can get away with doing what their big-money donors demand. What can trump D.C. special interest groups are constituents voicing their concerns. A politician who fears their vote on a piece of legislation may cost them their seat, is more easily persuadable to take those constituent's concerns into account and vote accordingly.

So, let's keep fighting. There are plenty of signs that massive new amnesties and immigration expansion are not inevitable. If one spends any time following the immigration debate internationally, it becomes clear that what we want is what people around the world want for their own countries -- moderate levels or less of legal immigration while preventing illegal immigration or guest workers programs that hurt domestic workers.

Open borders and the effective elimination of interior enforcement didn't suddenly become popular with voters in 2020 just because Joe Biden was elected President. The Biden Administration is under great political pressure because of its ruinous actions on the border. We have to continue to make this citizen demand for border control more powerful than the business lobbies and other open-border activists.

Keep up the pressure!

Eric Ruark, Director of research