Scoop: Newhouse Joins Bipartisan Immigration Talks

WASHINGTON, D.C. —  A third House Republican has joined bipartisan immigration talks with Long Island Democrat Tom Suozzi. Congressman Dan Newhouse of Washington is now working with Morgan Luttrell of Texas and Don Bacon of Nebraska to draft a migrant policy proposal during the lame duck, according to two sources familiar with the working group.

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.

On the border, Newhouse supports H.R. 2, a far-right GOP messaging bill by Congressman Chip Roy, an enforcement hardliner from Texas. This week, House Speaker Mike Johnson and Majority Leader Steve Scalise campaigned with Newhouse in his central Washington district where he faces a challenge from the right by fellow-Republican Jarrod Sessler in a race he is expected to win.

Is Bacon Cooked?

Bacon, a four-term GOP congressman and retired Air Force general working with Suozzi on the immigration proposal, faces a tough race in Nebraska against Democratic challenger Tony Vargas, the son of Peruvian migrants and former public school teacher running on an education and healthcare platform.

Vargas came within 3 points of beating Bacon in 2022 and has outraised the incumbent by a half-million dollars since September 30. Both candidates have been flagged for ethics violations during the campaign.

This week, Bacon told Politico’s Jordain Carney this week that the working group with Suozzi was focused on avoiding the pitfalls of a bipartisan Senate proposal that collapsed on arrival in February after it was opposed by former president Donald Trump.

“[W]e think there's more emphasis on ‘remain in Mexico,’ and you’ve got to process before you can get asylum. But maybe that’s the change we can make to that bill to get it over,” Bacon said.

Luttrell Keeps Mum

Curiously, Luttrell, the first GOP negotiator to join Suozzi, has said very little about his involvement in the bill draft, with his name appearing in several press releases that don’t quote him directly. 

Luttrell, a far-right hardliner, has now co-chaired several immigration meetings with Suozzi, including a gathering of around 150 in the Capitol Visitor Center on July 23, with a hundred more joined remotely. “Luttrell’s been quite involved,” said an advocacy source.

"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," Suozzi asserted. 

Republican Senators Thom Tillis of North Carolina and James Lankford of Oklahoma vocally opposed citizenship for migrants at the beginning in last year’s Senate negotiations over a bipartisan bill that famously failed in February after Donald Trump came out against it.

Curiously, Politico reported this week that House Republicans are now following the same playbook, reporting that package will not have a citizenship provision, but green cards remain in play.

Ultimately, whatever policy compromises Suozzi forges with his GOP colleagues has zero chance of passing this year, which means it’ll be back to the drawing board when the new term begins.

Congress is due back on Capitol Hill on November 12.

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