This week, both newly-elected and returning legislators arrive in Washington, D.C. to mark the start of the 114th Congress. In addition to new faces and personalities on Capitol Hill, the Republican Party now has control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate in this Congress. We expect that immigration reform will be one of the focal issues on this new Congress’ agenda.
One of the first tasks before the 114th Congress will be to pass a spending bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security, whose funding will run out at the end of February as part of a compromise on Fiscal Year 2015 spending passed in mid-December. We expect that these negotiations could become especially contentious, with many Members of Congress stating their desire to use the power of the purse to prevent the implementation of the President’s recent executive actions on immigration. We also expect the introduction of new legislation to accomplish these same goals. However, several important Members including the incoming freshman class president Ken Buck (R-CO) have indicated a willingness to collaborate across the aisles on important issues like immigration.
As always, we will keep you updated as we learn more. Please consider visiting LIRS’s Action Center to send a message to your elected representatives urging them to support fair and compassionate treatment for all migrants and refugees in the upcoming days and months.