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WASHINGTON – Lawmakers on Sunday unveiled a long-awaited bipartisan deal to address the migrant crisis at the southern border and a $118 billion package that includes new aid to Ukraine, Israel and other U.S. allies, sending the House I started walking down a difficult path. Republican leaders immediately criticized this.
Reports about the deal have been circulating for months, and the publicized text of the bill will allow leaders, including Republican lawmakers who have already sworn to disapprove of the proposal, to evaluate it for themselves.
The 370-page bill includes additional aid packages requested by President Joe Biden for overseas conflicts, including $60 billion for Ukraine, $14 billion for Israel and $10 billion for humanitarian aid, including in Gaza. Appropriated.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said he plans to begin the process of considering the bill this week because “the overwhelming majority of senators want it to become a reality.” But the deal has already faced harsh criticism from former President Donald Trump and other Republican leaders, and the odds of it passing Congress are unclear.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) said Sunday night that the bill “It’s even worse than expected.” And he said he would be “dead on arrival” if he reached the House of Commons. Even some Republican senators were quick to criticize: Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) said: “I don’t understand why Republicans think this is a good idea.”
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In a call with reporters, Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) urged his colleagues to consider it before making a ruling. “Why don’t we actually go through the process of seeing what[lawmakers]actually stand for and say they support this?” he said.
Biden said in a statement Sunday night that it is the “toughest and fairest border reform in decades” and that he strongly supports it. Schumer called it a “monumental step,” and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said it included “direct and immediate solutions,” urging the Senate to “take advantage of the opportunity at hand.” Please consider carefully and prepare for action.”
As Americans on both sides of the aisle urge lawmakers to compromise on a solution to the southern border, here’s what you need to know about the Senate deal.
What does the Senate’s border deal include?
The proposal would expand capacity and make it harder to qualify for refugee status, but it would allow immigrants who do have fear claims to remain in the country and work.
This includes approximately $20 billion in additional funding to expand the Department of Homeland Security’s ability to capture, process, detain, and transport migrants and to take down those who smuggle fentanyl and other drugs across the border. It is. The plan will also make it easier for multiple DHS agencies to hire additional employees.
The bill would end the practice known as “catch and release,” in which immigrants caught crossing the border illegally are released into the United States while they wait for the government to process their asylum claims. Instead, they will be detained while their claims are evaluated. It would also create a new voluntary program for immigrants to fly back to their home countries on commercial airlines at the U.S. government’s expense.
The agreement will expand the number of visas eligible for green cards each year for the next five years and ensure that children of H1-B visa holders remain eligible for green cards after they turn 18. It turns out. This includes a path to citizenship for Afghans who have left the country. A version of the Afghanistan Adjustment Act after the Taliban occupation.
Perhaps the most controversial element of the bill is a policy that would suspend the processing of asylum claims from illegal immigrants for three years if the number of immigrant deportations and arrests reaches an average of 4,000 per week. . If the weekly average rises to 5,000 or more, a mandatory closure will occur.
According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, there were 302,034 encounters at the southern border in December, for an average of 9,743 a day.
While the border is closed, immigrants caught entering the country illegally will be immediately deported. The process continues to allow processing of asylum claims from people seeking to enter the country at official ports of entry. Borders will also reopen after illegal border crossings have decreased to 75% of the trigger number, or after 270 days in the first year, 225 days in the second year, and 180 days in the third year. .
Sen. John Lankford (R-Okla.), the bill’s chief Republican negotiator, told reporters Thursday which elements of the deal are expected to receive the most criticism. .
“This process is really set up to process more people faster, make decisions faster and deport people faster,” he said. “But when the system gets overwhelmed, everyone gets deported until we catch up.”
Is the southern border safe?President Biden: “No, it’s not.”
Opposition from House Republicans and Hispanic members
Negotiators have been debating the package’s contents for months. Republican lawmakers are divided over additional U.S. aid to the war-torn country, with Republicans initially demanding a border security bill in exchange for support for additional aid to Ukraine.
But as the 2024 election cycle accelerates, President Trump has begun to pressure House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) and other Republicans in Congress to reject the deal. Even Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who is no friend of President Trump, reportedly admitted that the former president plans to make border security a centerpiece of his 2024 campaign. ing.
“We don’t want to do anything that undermines him,” McConnell told his fellow Republican senators at a private luncheon, Punchbowl reported, but later in the meeting. He made it clear that he has no intention of backing away from border law.
Biden has responded by increasing support for the policy, even as he faces opposition from within his own party. He vowed to take immediate action to “close” the southern border if Congress approves the package, saying lawmakers would pass it “if they were serious about the border crisis.” .
Prime Minister Johnson told House of Commons Republicans that the package was “dead on arrival.” He has repeatedly said that Biden can stop unauthorized immigration without support from Congress, but analysts say that would likely require him to have additional powers. are doing. The Louisiana lawmaker also called on his Senate colleagues to take up the House’s hard-line border bill, known as HR2, which failed to gain support from Democrats.
But House Republicans aren’t the only ones opposed to the Senate proposal. The Congressional Hispanic Caucus condemned Biden’s support for the policy, arguing that further reforms are needed to provide immigrants with a safe and legal path to citizenship.
Rep. Nanette Barragan (D-Calif.), the caucus chairwoman, said, “President Biden’s statement that the policies proposed in the reported Senate deal are ‘fair’ or will solve the problem at the southern border… I do not agree with that.” Thursday’s statement.
He said the deal could “make matters worse” and “spark more chaos” without creating a long-term solution, adding: “If the current Senate deal as reported is not passed, “I’m concerned that this could set back substantive and comprehensive immigration reform by 10 to 15 years.” ”
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