More than 100 House Democrats are urging President Joe Biden to ‘use all the tools available’ to help undocumented immigrants.

As House Republicans demand more border security measures from their perch in the majority, Democrats are asking President Joe Biden to use his executive status to further their party’s immigration goals. Reps. Jerry Nadler and Pramila Jayapal, ranking members of the House Judiciary Committee and Immigration Subcommittee, respectively, led a letter from 103 Democrats to Biden and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. It asked that officials “use all the tools available to provide stability to undocumented individuals and recently arrived asylum seekers, seeking to work lawfully, support their families, and contribute to the economy.” Read the full letter. Bigger picture: The letter, obtained first by POLITICO, is the latest effort on the issue from House Democrats as they navigate their minority and figure out what they can do to address immigration. Some House Republicans are refusing to fund the government unless legislation is passed to strengthen border security. House Democrats, of course, don’t have enough votes to address immigration as the minority party. Also worth noting: A group of Senate Democrats wrote to the administration in May with similar asks. Lead Art: AP Continue on to view the day's latest updates Washington Metropolitan Police patrol the area outside the E. Barrett Prettyman U.S. Federal Courthouse, Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023, in Washington. Former President Donald Trump is due in federal court Thursday to answer to charges that he sought to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) 1 DAY AGO Members of Congress and staff will be briefed on how to keep themselves safe, amid “a dramatic increase in violent crime and theft in Washington." The move by the House Administration chair follows high profile incidents of violent crime this year against members and staff. Katherine Tully-McManus KATHERINE TULLY-MCMANUS 09/11/2023, 6:02PM ET House Administration Chair Bryan Steil highlighted violent crime in D.C. as the impetus for hosting a safety briefing later this month, to which he has invited the “entire Capitol Hill Community.” Details: The event is slated for Sept. 18 in Longworth. In addition to Steil, the House Administration Panel’s invitation says it will feature the House sergeant at arms, Capitol Police, the D.C. Metropolitan Police Union and “victims of crime” for a discussion on “best practices, safety tips, and precautions." The move by Steil follows high-profile incidents of violent crime this year against members and staff, including the February attack on Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.) in her apartment building and the March stabbing of Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) staffer Phillip Todd, which left him with grave injuries. But the session will also cover property crime. “Other staff have had their homes broken into, cars stolen, and property taken,” the House Administration Committee invite warns. Asks and answers: Lawmakers in both chambers have voiced growing concerns about their safety outside the heavily policed Capitol campus due to a sharp rise in threats against members of Congress. They have asked Capitol Police for guidance and coordination with law enforcement in their districts and beyond to make plans and to help members, their families and staff feel more secure when away from the Capitol. But the incidents this year against Craig and Todd have not proven to be calculated and directed due to their positions, which raised the specter of crime impacting the Capitol community. Capital city context: The rate of homicides and carjackings have increased dramatically in the nation’s capital, shaking confidence in safety across the city. There have been more than 160 homicides in D.C. so far this year and police reported 140 carjacking incidents in June alone, marking the highest monthly total in more than five years. Lead Art: AP Kevin McCarthy outside his office in 2023 1 DAY AGO | HUDDLE The GOP House and Democratic Senate are trying to pass their plans to avert a government shutdown before the other chamber. Whichever chamber passes a funding plan first would have an upper hand in negotiations — just think back to Speaker Kevin McCarthy during debt limit talks. By DANIELLA DIAZ and JORDAIN CARNEY09/11/2023, 5:55PM ET Start your engines, Capitol Hill — it’s now a spending race between the two chambers. Senate Democrats are aiming to pass a package of three spending bills as soon as this week, while House Republicans prepare to take up one of their own, to fund the Pentagon. But you should think of this as something of a proxy for the much bigger question: Will the House or Senate be first to release a plan for staving off a Sept. 30 shutdown? First passage votes in Congress are like first impressions; they matter a lot. Just ask Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who effectively pushed the Biden White House to the negotiating table on the debt limit after he secured a House GOP plan in April. The opening bids: The Democratic-controlled chamber is set to move three bipartisan spending bills (one on agriculture, another on transportation and housing, and a third on military construction and veterans’ affairs). The Republican-run House has already passed its veterans’ spending bill but had to yank its agriculture funding bill, as we first reported – so it’s hoping to rebound with successful passage of a Pentagon spending plan. Each chamber, and the party in power there, wants to go into negotiations in a stronger position ahead of Sept. 30’s shutdown deadline. Translation: This week’s votes might be on specific spending bills, but the upper hand on a stopgap spending plan is what’s really at stake. “We know that the Senate is going to come back with a different position, so we should put together the most conservative position with 218 Republican votes and get it done,” one senior House GOP lawmaker said. The big House Republican problem: A group of conservatives, most in the House Freedom Caucus, have made clear they will tank any spending bills on the floor unless there are steep cuts to topline spending numbers across the board. And they may well make a statement by dragging their own leaders’ defense funding bill to a halt this week. McCarthy has privately indicated to Republicans that he plans to attach disaster aid to a short-term spending bill that could last into mid-November. But he hasn’t gone public with specifics, and for good reason – conservatives in and out of the Freedom Caucus told us that McCarthy will need to do more to get to 218 votes for that plan. High on the right flank’s list to add: Border policy changes and steeper spending cuts. “A 24 hour CR in order to keep negotiations going” might be acceptable, Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) told reporters Monday. “But I'm not going to do a 60-day, 90-day, 180-day [continuing resolution], rubber-stamping the status quo from last December's debacle of an omnibus spending bill.” The Zen Senate: Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) told reporters he expects his chamber to move quickly on its spending bills … and there will be amendments. He also suggested that a stopgap spending patch likely won’t be attached to whatever passes this week. "That's a separate consideration. … I'm not party to it, but I think that would be unusual,” he said. The Senate GOP’s top appropriator, Susan Collins of Maine, was spotted huddling with her party leaders on Monday during their weekly meeting. Stay tuned: The Freedom Caucus is holding a press conference at 3 p.m. tomorrow on the looming spending fight. ALSO IN HUDDLE: Responding to the news that California Gov. Gavin Newsom does not plan to appoint Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) — if Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) prematurely vacates her seat — Congressional Black Caucus chair Steven Horsford (D-Nev.) said in a statement to Huddle: “The CBC stands with many others when we declare that Rep. Barbara Lee remains the most eminently qualified to serve in this role should an opportunity to appoint someone come to the Governor’s desk.” The anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks is bringing a new, bipartisan push to revisit the 2016 law that allowed victims’ families to sue Saudi Arabia in response. For more information, visit us at https://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/.