Last Friday, Georgia’s Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives voted with the rest of their Democrat colleagues for H.R. 5376 (the “Build Back Better” legislation) that contains what may be the largest illegal alien amnesty in U.S. history. Georgia’s Republican congressmen voted with the rest of their colleagues in opposition.
The legislation is over 2,000 pages, and the amnesty is only a small part of it, but it has big implications. Consider these parts of the bill as summarized by the Washington-based Numbers USA organization:
- Grant work permits and legal status, called “parole,” to an estimated 8 million illegal aliens
- “Recapture” and issue an estimated 630,000 so-called “unused” green cards dating all the way back to 1992 above and beyond current annual numerical limits
- “Recapture” and issue Visa Lottery green cards to foreigners that went unused because of the COVID-19 pandemic
- Allow hundreds of thousands of aliens with approved green card petitions to adjust their status above and beyond numerical limits
In addition to the mass amnesty, Numbers USA conservatively estimates that the bill would result in about 1 million additional green cards over the next 10 years.
Even though some Democrats expressed concerns over the immigration provisions, none were from Georgia. The amnesty bill passed with support of all House Democrats except Rep. Jared Golden of Maine.
The legislation now goes to the U.S. Senate for a vote, and Senate leaders say they’ll have to make some significant changes to the House-passed legislation. And if that passes, then the House would have to vote on the Senate version. Senate Democrats will also have to ensure that their version of the legislation complies with Senate parliamentary rules since they’re using the budget reconciliation process to avoid a filibuster from Senate Republicans.
In fact, the Senate may not be able to take up the Build Back Better bill immediately since it faces various legislative deadlines following the Thanksgiving recess.
By the way, so far Georgia’s two Democratic senators— Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff– have no objections to the mass illegal immigrant amnesty.
