WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) joined Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and 11 of their Senate Democratic colleagues in a letter to Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) stressing the importance of working together on pressing border security and immigration needs. Sens. Warner and Kelly were joined in this letter by Sens. Gary Peters (D-MI), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Angus King (D-ME), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), and Chris Coons (D-DE).

“As we have shown, Democrats and Republicans can work together on real bipartisan solutions. We can solve big challenges when we work together, and there is much work to do to improve border security, protect Dreamers and farmworkers, and fix our immigration system to better reflect the needs of our country and our modern economy,” the senators wrote, emphasizing the need for bipartisan cooperation in advancing meaningful and long-lasting solutions.

“We understand that Senate Republicans have discussed using the budget reconciliation process to advance border security budget measures without any Democratic input. While that’s your right, in working together on a bipartisan basis, we can achieve the best outcome for the American people. There are also limitations to what can be done under budget reconciliation, and as we’ve seen time and time again, no party has all the solutions on this or any issue,” they continued. “We remain ready to work with you in good faith to craft legislation that can achieve bipartisan support and 60 votes in the Senate. While there will be challenges, addressing the pressing needs of our nations’ borders and finding bipartisan solutions to our outdated immigration system are too important to ignore in the 119th Congress,” they close.

A copy of the letter is available here and below:

Dear Majority Leader Thune:

We write regarding the pressing border security and immigration needs facing our country. As we have shown, Democrats and Republicans can work together on real bipartisan solutions . We can solve big challenges when we work together, and there is much work to do to improve border security, protect Dreamers and farmworkers, and fix our immigration system to better reflect the needs of our country and our modern economy. These issues require bipartisan cooperation and we stand ready to work with you to develop meaningful and long-lasting solutions to these important issues that have gone unaddressed for far too long under both Democratic- and Republican-controlled government.

We understand that Senate Republicans have discussed using the budget reconciliation process to advance border security budget measures without any Democratic input. While that’s your right, in working together on a bipartisan basis, we can achieve the best outcome for the American people. There are also limitations to what can be done under budget reconciliation, and as we’ve seen time and time again, no party has all the solutions on this or any issue.

There is a lot of common ground for us to start on. We see a need for strong, commonsense, and fair immigration enforcement accompanied by the necessary resources to effectively secure our borders. That’s important for our national security and to support border states. We also see a need for a firm but fair immigration system that streamlines processes and better addresses our workforce needs.

The American people are counting on us to find bipartisan solutions to our nations’ priorities. We remain ready to work with you in good faith to craft legislation that can achieve bipartisan support and 60 votes in the Senate. While there will be challenges, addressing the pressing needs of our nations’ borders and finding bipartisan solutions to our outdated immigration system are too important to ignore in the 119th Congress.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,