Democratic lawmakers made their post-midterm case on Trump immigration policy at a Wednesday press conference outside the US Capitol: the enforcement operation should be scaled back now, and bipartisan reform talks should restart immediately. Members of Congress from both chambers argued that the moment is ripe, pointing to Donald Trump's own admission after his party's midterm drubbing that the immigration system had been "too tough" in certain aspects.

A bipartisan call days after the midterms

The event drew progressive and moderate Democrats from the Senate and the House, many of them holding signs reading "legal pathways for long-term immigrants". Congresswoman Veronica Escobar, a Texas Democrat whose district includes El Paso on the US-Mexico border, framed the arithmetic plainly: without a Senate supermajority, any comprehensive immigration reform must be bipartisan, because Republican support is needed.

• •The press conference came just over a week after the midterm elections, which followed voter unease over the enforcement operation.
• •Attendees spanned the party's progressive and moderate wings in both chambers.
• •Maria Salazar of Florida, the one Republican slated to appear, did not attend; she has criticized the president over immigration, a rare stance from his side of the aisle.

The appeal unfolded against a turbulent year. Trump's mass deportation campaign and measures that dramatically slowed border crossings date from his return to the White House in January 2025, after Joe Biden's presidency saw significantly elevated levels of migration at the border and a reputation among voters for Democratic softness.

In his second term so far, immigration enforcement agents have killed both US citizens and immigrants, detention numbers have hit record levels in often squalid conditions, and interior enforcement has turned violent - a record the report notes soured many voters on the president.

Two bills as starting points

Rather than fresh proposals, lawmakers pointed to two existing bipartisan bills as practical starting points. Notably, there was no detailed talk on Wednesday of how to abolish or even significantly reform Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), despite it being a hot campaign topic.

• •The American Dream and Promise Act would provide legal pathways to a green card for undocumented immigrants brought to the US as children, known as "Dreamers", and for people with temporary protections whose home countries face serious turmoil.
• •The Dignity Act, led by Salazar, counts 35 Democratic and 20 Republican sponsors, and stands as the only bipartisan, comprehensive immigration reform bill introduced in over a decade.

Representative Sylvia Garcia of Texas argued the Dream and Promise Act can begin building a foundation now, with more reforms to follow next year when Democrats take over. The urgency is sharpened by the administration's conduct: it has stopped recognizing many temporary legal statuses awarded under past Democratic administrations and has been deporting, or trying to deport, many people who hold papers or long-term legal options.

Escobar, the Dignity Act's co-author, said she and colleagues plan to reshape the bill over the next few weeks before reintroducing it next legislative session. Passing it in the upcoming Congress, she said, would allow even more for immigrants, families, the economy and communities in 2028, adding:

Gallego: time still for a deal

Senator Ruben Gallego of Arizona made the case that a bipartisan agreement remains within reach, saying "There is time still this session for a deal". He added that lawmakers should keep working toward one even into the next session, whatever the outcome of current negotiations.

Gallego's argument rested on conditions at the border itself. He contended that the border is now safe and secure, that the enforcement job has been done, and that immigration should now be "right-sized" with families kept together. His prescription: "We have that right now. We did the job. Now let's figure out how to right-size our immigration issue."

The obstacles ahead

The path to any deal runs through mixed signals from the president. Trump at one point floated a tentative arrangement with Democrats that would shield long-settled undocumented immigrants with clean records from his crackdown - yet shortly afterward he elevated Stephen Miller, the architect and orchestrator of his most draconian immigration policies, to the role of chief of staff. Separately, he has warned that he would resort frequently to presidential vetoes to stop Democratic-supported legislation should Congress pass it.

One lever sits with Representative Henry Cuellar, another Texas border-area Democrat. He expects to chair the House appropriations homeland security subcommittee in the new year, giving him control of DHS funding, and says he has a list of guardrails to revert ICE to its role prior to Trump's second term.

Beyond funding, experts expect a barrage of investigations and oversight hearings from Democrats next year to bring accountability. For now, Escobar and her colleagues say the next few weeks will be spent reshaping the Dignity Act ahead of its reintroduction next legislative session.