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Senators on Sunday announced a long-awaited border deal and a foreign aid package that includes aid to Ukraine and Israel, paving the way for a key vote in the House this week, where the bill is defeated. There is a risk that, if passed, it would cause a conflict with the House of Commons.
In a sign of the grim prospects facing the bill, Speaker Mike Johnson declared the agreement “null and void on arrival” in the House of Commons after the document was released Sunday night.
The deal gives the president broad powers to significantly restrict the entry of illegal immigrants at the southern border. If passed, the deal would make tough changes to immigration laws that have not been amended for decades. The massive $118.2 billion bill would also provide aid to key U.S. allies abroad, including billions of dollars to help Ukraine in its fight against Russia and security assistance to Israel; This includes humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza, the West Bank and Ukraine.
The border deal puts one of the most vexing political issues at the center of President Joe Biden’s foreign policy agenda, forcing him to take a tougher stance on the issue he is responsible for heading into November. Ta.
The compromise would introduce tough restrictions along the U.S. southern border that had not been enacted before, effectively drastically reducing asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border and breaking decades-old protocol. It will be a break with.
This includes three senators: Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, and Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma, one of the most conservative Republicans in Congress. It is the culmination of months of bipartisan negotiations with lawmakers. But former Presidents Donald Trump and Johnson have attacked the border agreement as too weak and say their opponents threaten to derail the bill.
“If this bill reaches the House of Commons, it will be dead on arrival,” Johnson wrote to X.
House Minority Leader Steve Scalise denounced the border deal Sunday night and said there would be no floor vote, a measure that would put more pressure on Senate Republicans and push back against cautious Republicans. They may be persuaded to vote. This bill will not even be considered in the House of Representatives.
“To be clear, the Senate border bill will not get a vote in the House,” the Louisiana Republican wrote to Mr. Meanwhile, the official House Republican account, Mr. X, has begun campaigning against the deal, writing on social media: Kill the Bill”
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, the bill includes approximately $60 billion to support Ukraine in its war against Russia, $14.1 billion in security assistance to Israel, border operational needs and capabilities, and new border policies. This includes $20.23 billion to provide resources for the project. – more than the $14 billion Biden originally requested for border security. The package also includes billions of dollars for regional partners in the Indo-Pacific.
Biden “strongly supports” the Senate border bill in a statement Sunday, calling it “the toughest and fairest border reform in decades.”
If Congress fails to pass the bill, senators will have to decide whether to pass aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, apart from border and immigration measures.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced Saturday that the House of Commons will vote this week on a standalone bill to provide aid to Israel. Louisiana Republicans called on the Senate to consider the bill quickly, increasing pressure on senators to abandon efforts to tie aid to Israel to other issues.
It’s unclear whether a foreign aid package can pass on its own, as many Senate Republicans have called for increased border security in exchange for aid to these allies.
The Senate is expected to take a key test vote on the package by Wednesday at the latest, but the first vote on whether to start debate requires 60 votes to pass, enough support to clear the hurdle. It is unclear whether or not.
Republican senators are even more reluctant to vote yes because they risk defying President Trump and Johnson has suggested the policy could be null and void when it arrives in the House. There is a possibility that it will become a target. Shortly after the deal was announced, some Republican senators, including Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn, announced they would not support it. Sen. Mike Lee of Utah also criticized the deal in a series of posts about X, saying, “No self-respecting senator should agree to vote on this 370-page bill this week.”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said in a statement, “The Senate must carefully consider the opportunities before us and be prepared to act.” I thank Mr. Lankford for his tireless efforts to begin with immediate solutions.” A crisis on our southern border. ”
“I’m confident that the vast majority of senators want to make this happen,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said at a news conference, adding, “In order to do that, we need to shut out the noise.”
The New York Democrat called the agreement “a monumental step toward strengthening America’s national security abroad and along our borders,” adding, “Frankly, I have never worked so closely with Leader McConnell on any bill.” We have never cooperated.” We both realized the gravity of the situation and how important this passage is for both the United States and the world. ”
Montana Sen. Steve Daines, the Senate Republican campaign manager, became the first member of the Senate Republican leadership to vote against the bill on Monday.
“I cannot support a bill that does not secure our borders, provides taxpayer-funded lawyers for illegal immigrants, and donates billions of dollars to radical open border groups,” Daines wrote in X. “I say no.”
Senate Republican leader John Thune was noncommittal last week when asked whether there was enough support from Senate Republicans to overcome President Trump’s opposition.
“We don’t know the answer yet,” Thune, the Republican poll director, told CNN’s Manu Raju.
Thune argued that the agreement “contains a lot of very good conservative border policy,” but at the same time, “it’s become a target…and ultimately what we want to enact into law.” “It will become,” he said.
In recent weeks, President Trump has been lobbying Republicans publicly and privately to oppose the deal, in part because the issue has eroded his campaign, according to Republican officials familiar with the conversations. They want to campaign and they don’t want Biden to win the election. Areas where he is politically vulnerable.
Mr. Biden, by contrast, supports the border agreement, saying in a statement late last month that his presidency would give him “new emergency powers to close the border in the event of an overwhelming situation,” and that he would do so immediately. I vowed to use it. If the bill becomes law. Biden’s tougher border measures, aimed at fending off attacks from Trump over his immigration policies ahead of the election, risk putting the president at odds with his progressive allies.
In a move highlighting tensions over the issue, Republican governors from around the country joined Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in Eagle Pass on Sunday to voice support for Texas’ border security plan.
“We have come here to send a loud and clear message that we will come together to fight to ensure that we uphold our constitutional guarantee that our nation can defend itself against any kind of imminent danger or invasion. It’s for the sake of it.”
The agreement would give the Department of Homeland Security new emergency powers to crack down on border crossings if the number of migrant encounters reaches an average of 4,000 per day in a week. If activated, the DHS secretary could decide to largely ban migrants from applying for asylum if they cross the border illegally.
DHS would be required to exercise this authority if immigrant admissions increased by more than 5,000 people per day on average in a given week. Authority expires after three years.
Immigrants can seek asylum at ports of entry. The bill would codify a process that would require the government to process 1,400 asylum applications at ports of entry, as well as raise refugee standards and speed up processing.
Those who do not meet asylum eligibility will be promptly deported.
Taken together, the Senate agreement aims to speed up the asylum process, with cases reviewed within six months, compared to the current system, which takes up to 10 years to review asylum seekers. It would also be harder for immigrants to prove they are eligible for asylum.
Even if an agreement is passed, it is unlikely to take effect immediately, as it would require significant resources, including hiring additional personnel, and often take several months.
As the deal comes under attack from far-right groups, Senate negotiators have sought to dispel claims that it is a misrepresentation of the deal. Conservatives argued the Senate policy would allow thousands of immigrants to enter the United States each day, but attack negotiators pushed back.
“By quickly introducing this system, people who enter the country for economic reasons will quickly understand that this is not their route into our country, and that they will not be able to take the sometimes dangerous or dangerous path to the border. I believe it will go away,” Sinema said. Her life near the Mexican border was told on CBS Sunday.
Lankford also rejected claims that the deal would fully allow immigrants into the United States, saying the bill was not a “betrayal” as President Trump has told his supporters.
Meanwhile, President Trump has argued that Republicans should not accept any compromise and the bill is not needed, and Prime Minister Boris Johnson is fiercely opposed to the deal.
Mr. Johnson denied in a recent news conference that he had pushed to scrap the Senate border agreement to support Mr. Trump’s campaign, but the chairman said he had spoken “at length” with Mr. Trump.
“I’ve talked at length with former President Trump about this issue, and he understands that we have a responsibility here,” Johnson told CNN.
This story has been updated with additional information.
CNN’s Manu Raju, Morgan Rimmer, Melanie Zanona, Sarah Smart, Rosa Flores and Sarah Weisfeldt contributed to this report.
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