Will Amnesty For Illegals Be Senate GOP’s Next Act Of Betrayal?

After surrendering to Democrats on a myriad of hot-button issues, Senate Republicans may get yet another chance to sell out their base before the years end this time, on a last-minute immigration bill reportedly engineered by North Carolina GOP Sen. Thom Tillis that would provide amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants.

According to reporting from melodramatic Washington Post columnist Greg Sargent, Tillis and Arizona Democrat Sen. Kyrsten Sinema are pressing for the upper chamber to consider their bipartisan immigration reform bill before Congresss current lame-duck session ends later this month.

While the legislation would apparently provide more funding for Border Patrol officers, resources to expedite the removal of migrants who dont qualify for asylum, and an extension of Title 42 (a health policy that permits federal officials to expel illegal immigrants with minimal processing) for another year, it doesnt stop there.

Among its massive concessions, the legislation would establish a so-called pathway to citizenship which usually denotes bypassing the pathway that already exists for 2 million illegal immigrants brought to the United States as minors.

These immigrants refer to the recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. DACA was illegally established by former President Barack Obama, who admitted on multiple occasions throughout his presidency that he was not king and couldnt just bypass Congress and change the (immigration) law [himself].

While its unclear whether the Senate plans to take up the bill before the current congressional session ends, Tilliss last-minute attempt to ram through an amnesty package before Republicans take control of the House of Representatives next month runs contrary to claims issued by his office earlier this year. Back in June, a representative from the North Carolina senators office told Fox News there was not much to negotiate on immigration until President Joe Biden enforce[s] immigration laws and takes action to end the crisis at the [U.S. southern] border.

Judging by the number of illegal border crossings since that statement, however, its pretty evident that hasnt happened. In October alone, Customs and Border Protection apprehended more than 230,000 illegals, marking a 1.3 percent increase from September and a new record high. Those figures dont even include the estimated 64,000 gotaways that evaded apprehension by border patrol officials.

Since taking office, Biden has presided over a record-shattering number of border crossings, with 1.7 million apprehensions reported in fiscal year 2021 and more than 2.3 million in 2022.

Tillis office did not respond to The Federalists request for comment.

While the move to hand out amnesty like candy on Halloween is absurd, it should come as no surprise to conservative voters. Over the past year, Tillis and several of his Republican colleagues have worked overtime to sell out their base on a whole host of issues.

Most recently, Tillis ignored the wishes of his voters and helped spearhead the wrongly named Respect for Marriage Act, voting with 11 of his fellow GOP senators to help Democrats pass the bill. With the Democrat-controlled House poised to pass the legislation and send it to Bidens desk for signature, the measure, once law, will open the door for radical LGBT activists to use the legal system to harass religious Americans for believing in the true definition of marriage.

The move came not long after the Senate GOP overwhelmingly reelected Sen. Mitch McConnell as party leader, despite a majority of likely Republican voters favoring a change in leadership.

But Senate Republicans betrayal of their base doesnt stop there. Earlier this year, Tillis and 14 of his GOP colleagues demonstrated their fecklessness yet again by helping Democrats advance gun control legislation. Among the most notable changes to federal law included in the bill is a provision that uses taxpayer money to incentivize states to enact red flag laws, which erode gun owners constitutional right to due process.

Shawn Fleetwood is a Staff Writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He also serves as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood

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Will Amnesty For Illegals Be Senate GOP's Next Act Of Betrayal?