Senate Democrats are urging President Joe Biden "to streamline pathways" for illegal immigrants to obtain lawful status, arguing that if former President Donald Trump is reelected, he could start mass deportations.

"We urge your Administration to take all available actions to streamline pathways to lawful status for undocumented immigrants, providing certainty to the American businesses, communities, and families who rely on them," 18 Senate Democrats and one independent senator, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, wrote last week in a letter to Biden.

The senators highlighted the tax contributions of illegal immigrants

They said that in 2019, illegal immigrants paid an estimated $9.7 billion in federal and state taxes and contributed more than $11 billion to social security. They also said that more than 1.1 million U.S. citizens are married to an illegal immigrant and about 4.9 million U.S. citizen children have at least one parent who is an illegal immigrant.