Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough on Sunday dealt a significant blow to Democrats’ hopes of including a pathway to citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants – ruling that they can’t include it in their $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill.

Democrats are seeking to pass the massive spending bill via the budget reconciliation process – which allows them to avoid a Senate filibuster and pass the legislation with just 50 votes. 

As part of this bill, Democrats had sought to include a number of immigration provisions, including a pathway to legal permanent residence and citizenship for a number of categories of illegal immigrants. Those eligible included recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, those who are protected by Temporary Protected Status, farmworkers, and those deemed "essential workers."

It was seen as Democrats’ best chance of passing pathways to citizenship for illegal immigrants, after efforts to pass a sweeping immigration reform bill earlier in the year stalled in the face of Republican opposition.  

Given the 50/50 split in the Senate, Democrats would have needed to get 10 Republican votes to overcome a filibuster, and Republicans have largely snubbed efforts to grant legal status to illegal immigrants – citing the effect they believe it would have on the already surging crisis at the southern border.