WASHINGTON — The House bipartisan working group crafting a new immigration proposal plans to press forward with a comprehensive policy product now that Congress has returned to the Capitol for the “lame duck” period following the election.

On Wednesday, Migrant Insider caught up with GOP Rep. Morgan Luttrell of Texas who tells us that the bill will be comprehensive, including both enforcement and relief provisions. “We are covering everything from the border wall to H1A, H2A visas, talking about DACA and Dreamers and what that’s going to look like,” he said.

Luttrell, a former Navy SEAL, along with GOP Reps. Dan Newhouse of Washington and Don Bacon of Nebraska, are working with Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi of New York on a draft that we’re guessing probably won’t be introduced until the new term.

Interestingly, Newhouse is a member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture where he has led the GOP push for the bipartisan Agricultural Workforce Modernization Act since 2019. The bill that would provide a legalization pathway for farm workers (and their families) who work at least 1,035 hours over a two-year period.

"Democrats and Republicans in Washington must work together to pass bipartisan immigration reform legislation to firmly secure our borders and establish clear, legal paths to citizenship," said Suozzi in July when the bipartisan group first began meeting for closed-door listening sessions with lawmakers, advocates, and the business community.

In October, Bacon told Politico’s Jordain Carney that the group has broken their policy discussions into three buckets, the substance of which remains mostly secretive … so we’ll keep asking when Congress returns next week to the Capitol. For now, more to follow…

Interview Transcript: Rep. Morgan Luttrell

• Pablo: Congressman Lutrell!

• Luttrell: How are you sir? 

• P: Good! Quick question, any updates on the bipartisan immigration talks with Mr. Suozzi?

• L: We are working shoulder to shoulder in this. We’re still dotting the “i-s” and crossing the “t-s”. We’re still not back in office, but the legislation is absolutely important, imperative, and we’re across the aisle, and I’m not walking away from that at all. 

• P: Is it a comprehensive discussion or is it more just focused on enforcement? Are there more relief elements in play? 

• L: So, that’s the question. Yes, because we’re doing immigration and border together, which is very complex, alot of (long sigh) … what’s the best way I can say this? We are covering everything from the border wall to H1A, H2A visas, talking about DACA and Dreamers and what that’s going to look like. So, what Mr. Suozzi and I have together, we’ll collect enough and we’ll present that to the American public. 

• P: Thank you, congressman, I’ll keep asking…