Senators on Sunday combined border security policy with wartime aid to Ukraine, Israel and other U.S. allies as part of a long-term effort to push the bill past deep skepticism from Republicans, including House Speaker Mike Johnson. They raced to unveil the long-awaited bill. .
The proposal is President Joe Biden’s best chance to re-supply wartime aid to Ukraine, and is a key diplomatic move shared by both Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and top Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell. It is a policy goal. The Senate was scheduled to take a key test vote on the bill this week, but it has already run into a wall of conservative opposition.
With Congress stalling approval of tens of billions of dollars in aid to Ukraine, the United States has halted shipments of ammunition and missiles to Kiev, leaving Ukrainian soldiers at a disadvantage as they try to repel a Russian invasion.
McConnell pushed for border policy changes to be included in the national security funding package last year, overcoming opposition from House Republicans. The bill would overhaul the asylum system at the border, provide faster and stricter enforcement, and give the president new powers to immediately expel immigrants if authorities are overwhelmed by the number of asylum seekers. be.
But the changing immigration situation in a presidential election year has seen Biden and many Democrats embrace the idea of stricter border enforcement, while Donald Trump and his allies have balked at any proposed measures. Criticized as insufficient. They also argue that the president already has sufficient authority to curb illegal border crossings, a position that will ensure that immigration remains a key issue in the presidential election.
Johnson, R-Louisiana, said in an interview Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that he tried to bring House Republicans directly into the Senate negotiations but was rebuffed. He added that while he didn’t know the details of the bill, the solution to the border issue should be a tough immigration policy proposal in the House.
“What we’re saying is we have to stem the flow,” Johnson said. He also said that if the bill passes the Senate, he, not Mr. Trump, will decide whether to take it up.
But in a further sign that Mr. Johnson is resisting the Senate package, he indicated Saturday that the House of Commons will vote on another package of $17.6 billion in military aid to Israel. . This would allow House Republicans to demonstrate support for Israel independently of the Senate. transaction.
Still, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, the Arizona independent who negotiated the border proposal, said on CBS’ “Face the Nation” that the bill is “realistic, practical, and the strongest response to the border crisis in my lifetime.” “It will be a solution to this problem,” he said.
“I am confident that once our bill passes the Senate and reaches the House, members of the House, including Speaker Johnson, will have ample opportunity to read it, understand it, and ask questions,” Sinema said. Ta.
The border proposal, which took months to negotiate, is aimed at reining in an asylum system overwhelmed by historic numbers of migrants arriving at the border. The bill proposes an overhaul of the system with tougher and faster enforcement measures. If the number of illegal border crossings exceeds 5,000 people per day on a five-day average, deportation authorities will automatically be activated and migrants will be sent back to Mexico without the opportunity to apply for asylum. If that number reaches 4,000, the presidential administration will have the option of using deportation powers.
Biden referred to the agency and said he intends to use it to “close the border” as soon as the bill is signed into law.
White House press secretary Andrew Bates said Sunday that Johnson “continues to chain himself to slow border security, slow critical investments in the fight against fentanyl, and slow hiring of Border Patrol agents.” . Many of my House Republican colleagues have publicly stated that they oppose a bipartisan border agreement because of former President Donald Trump. ”
The bill allocates $18.5 billion for immigration enforcement, including thousands of thousands of people who review asylum claims, according to a person briefed on the bill. The move also includes hiring new staff and hundreds of Border Patrol agents. Of that amount, $1.4 billion will go to shelters and services in cities across the country that have struggled to cope with the influx of migrants in recent months.
Migrants seeking asylum, which protects people facing persecution in their home countries, will face a tougher and faster process before their claims are evaluated. Standards for the initial interview, known as a reliable fear screening, have been raised, with many people being interviewed within days of arriving at the border. A final decision on their asylum claims will be made within months, instead of the years it currently takes.
There has been concern among Democrats, especially progressives and Hispanic members, about stricter asylum standards. Members of both parties have publicly criticized the policies being debated, but many have held off on making final decisions until they can scrutinize the bill’s text, making it a closely guarded secret on Capitol Hill.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries suggested in an interview on ABC’s “This Week” that he would support the bill if it passes the House.
“It can’t be dead on arrival,” he said. “We need more common sense in Washington, D.C., and less conflict and chaos. We are in an era of divided government, which means we should try to find bipartisan common ground.”
Senators finalized the border proposal on Friday, but other parts of the package, including aid to U.S. allies, investments in defense manufacturing capacity and humanitarian aid to people caught up in conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine, remain in place. It is still being negotiated by Senate appropriators.
But Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, suggested in an interview on “Fox News Sunday” that Republican senators would work to slow the bill’s rapid progress in the Senate.
“We’re not going to address this issue next week,” he said. “It’s too important.”