SCOOP: How one Democrat’s shift on illegal immigration complicates party’s majority push in 2026

Illegal immigration continues to complicate the House Democrats’ path to a majority, with one swing district Democrat’s shift on the issue complicating the party’s 2026 majority push.

Rep. Tom Suozzi (D., N.Y.) won reelection in 2024, as President Donald Trump carried his district by almost 20,000 votes. Since the election, Suozzi has been trying to tie himself to the president’s immigration policies all year long.

Suozzi’s latest attempt centered on an appearance on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, where he said that he backs a deal that would legalize “but not necessarily provide a pathway to citizenship” for illegal immigrants.

“We need to legalize a bunch of these folks that have been here for a decade or more,” he said, adding that he backs “a deal so we can legalize…people…especially if you’ve been here for 10, or 20, or 30 years.”

This is a seismic shift for the veteran Democrat, who was an original cosponsor of the U.S. Citizenship Act as recently as 2021, which would provide citizenship to illegal immigrants with up to two misdemeanors.

Suozzi’s shift on illegal immigration also shows that the Democratic Party’s progressive stance on the border demonstrated under the Biden administration did not resonate in critical swing districts.

In New York, serious crimes like sexual abuse in the third degree, sexual misconduct, forcible touching, drunk driving, child abuse, violating a restraining order, stalking and strangulation are all classified as misdemeanors.

Had Suozzi had his way, an illegal immigrant convicted of one of those crimes would still have been eligible to receive citizenship.

The bill even included a process for illegal immigrants who were deported during the Trump Administration to apply for and receive amnesty.

Despite Suozzi’s pivot, his earlier move could prove devastating for his district, given New York’s rightward shift on issues like illegal immigration.