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WASHINGTON – A bipartisan group of senators unveiled a sweeping proposal Sunday that would target America’s southern border and provide vital foreign aid. Lawmakers spent months crafting the deal, which was opposed within hours by members of both parties.
The agreement would significantly expand border detention and accelerate humanitarian asylum programs. It would also make it harder for people to qualify for asylum and fill the border wall, among other sweeping changes.
The bill, enacted by a group of Republican and Democratic lawmakers, would create a path to citizenship for “documented Dreamers,” or children who first came to the United States with their parents on work visas. The border proposal is combined with billions of dollars in funding to Ukraine, Israel and other US allies.
The deal has the support of President Joe Biden, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (R-N.Y.) and, so far, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). Meanwhile, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) and former President Donald Trump have publicly rejected the bill, and a growing number of Republicans are joining in.
This dynamic upends the traditional script of border disputes. A potential deal includes many conservative immigration priorities, but not Democratic demands. But moving forward will require moderates from both parties, and it is not clear whether they will support the deal.
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Here are three key takeaways about a far-reaching border deal with an uncertain future.
Biden and Trump are involved in a fight
Both Mr. Trump and Mr. Biden are interested in the fate of this bill. More than 60% of voters in key battleground states say Biden is at least partly responsible for the surge of migrants at the southern border, according to a recent Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll.
And Trump lobbied Republican lawmakers to oppose the border plan long before he actually got the text of the bill. He reiterated his opposition in a post on Truth Social Monday morning, saying, “Only idiots or radical left Democrats would vote for this horrible border bill.”
President Trump has announced plans to make immigration a central part of his 2024 re-election bid. Some House Republicans have argued that the Senate bill should be rejected to avoid handing Biden a political victory in a campaign year. Nevertheless, Johnson told reporters last week that it was “ridiculous” to suggest that Republicans wanted to repeal the bill to help the Trump campaign.
The White House used that dynamic to argue that if Republicans truly believed the border crisis was an emergency, they should support the policy.
“House Republicans have to decide: Do they want to solve the problem or continue playing border politics?” Biden said in a statement Sunday. “I have made a decision. I am ready to solve the problem.”
Long-awaited border deal ‘dead’ with House Republicans, uncertain in Senate
Despite months spent crafting the agreement, the path to passage into law is questionable. All of the top Republicans in the House quickly voiced their opposition to the bill Sunday night and delivered a scathing blowback to their opponents on Monday.
In a joint statement with House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-Louisiana), Prime Minister Johnson said: “We will fail in every policy area necessary to secure our borders and will actually encourage more illegal immigration.” Stated. Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) and Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.).
They reiterated that Biden has the authority to single-handedly “end the border catastrophe” and called for the Senate to take up the tough border bill, known as HR 2, passed by the House of Representatives.
“Considering this Senate bill in its current form is a waste of time. The bill is dead on arrival in the House. We encourage the U.S. Senate to reject the bill,” Republican leaders said. Ta.
A group of conservative senators also vowed to oppose the bill this week, including some who initially said they would reserve judgment until they saw the full text.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said he had “questions and serious concerns” about the deal. Meanwhile, National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Steve Daines (R-Mont.) said there was “no guarantee” that Biden would enforce the nation’s laws, citing Democrats’ rising momentum and saying, “We’ll take it up in the Senate.” That in itself is meaningless.” House.
the democratic party is divided
Biden and Schumer remain bullish on their border proposal. “Many on the far right have turned their backs on this policy,” Schumer said on the Senate floor Monday.
But Republicans aren’t the only ones on the fence about this deal. Many Democrats have expressed concern that the bill is too harsh and does not address fundamental problems with the country’s immigration system.
Congressional Progressive Caucus Chairwoman Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., said the package creates “unrealistic standards and timelines” for asylum and includes provisions that some Democrats would never support. He said that
“There is no question that significant changes are needed to immigration reform,” he said in a statement. “But this proposal does not include any thoughtful reforms to make that happen or actually address the situation at the border humanely.”
The Congressional Hispanic Caucus also objected to Biden calling the proposal “fair,” saying it “could make things worse.”
Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., CHC Membersaid in a statement Sunday night that the negotiations did not involve “Democrats or Hispanic members of Congress from a single border state.”
“It’s no surprise that this border deal misses the mark,” he said. “This deal includes a new version of the immigration policies that failed during the Trump administration, and will result in more disruption at the border, not less.”
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