RELATED PRESS / MAY 10
Migrants wait in line adjacent to the border fence under the watch of the Texas National Guard to enter into El Paso, Texas. Senators are racing to release a highly-anticipated bill that pairs border enforcement policy with wartime aid for Ukraine, Israel and other U.S. allies, as part of a long-shot effort to push the package through heavy skepticism from Republicans, including House Speaker Mike Johnson.
UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS OFFICE VIA AP
In this photo provided through Ukraine’s presidential press office, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, center, during his stopover in the Zaporizhzhia region, the scene of intense fighting with Russian troops in Ukraine, Sunday, Feb. 4.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senators today released a long-awaited $118 bill package tying a border policy to wartime aid for Ukraine, Israel and other U. S. allies, sparking a long-term effort to move the bill forward despite significant skepticism from Republicans. adding that Speaker of the House Mike Johnson.
The proposal could be the best chance for President Joe Biden to resupply Ukraine with wartime aid — a major foreign policy goal that is shared with both the Senate’s top Democrat, Sen. Chuck Schumer, and top Republican, Sen. Mitch McConnell. The Senate was expected this week to hold a key test vote on the legislation, but it faces a wall of opposition from conservatives.
With Congress stalled on approving $60 billion in Ukraine aid, the U.S. has halted shipments of ammunition and missiles to Kyiv, leaving Ukrainian soldiers outgunned as they try to beat back Russia’s invasion.
Senators have been pushing for months for a painstakingly negotiated compromise designed to defeat opposition from conservatives who are tired of Ukraine’s struggle for investment. But the coming days will be a very important test to determine whether Congressional leaders will be able to once again convince their members that the package designed to affirm America’s strength and commitment to the world. They will also have to balance one of the most delicate issues in American politics: border and immigration legislation.
Biden said in a statement that the Senate proposal “allows the United States to continue our important work, with partners around the world, to protect Ukraine’s freedom and help its ability to protect itself from Russia’s aggression. “
And on the border, Biden said that the immigration system has been broken for too long, and it’s time to fix it. “It will make our country safer, make our border more secure, treat people fairly and humanely while preserving legal immigration, consistent with our values as a nation,” Biden said.
The proposal would reform the asylum formula at the border with faster and stricter enforcement, and give presidents new powers to deport immigrants if the government is defeated by the number of other people seeking asylum. The new bill would also invest in the U. S. defense industry, send $14 billion in military aid to Israel, direct only about $5 billion to allies in the Asia-Pacific region, and provide humanitarian aid to civilians caught up in the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza.
In a call with reporters after the bill was released, Schumer said he had never worked so hard with McConnell. He called the bill a “monumental step” toward strengthening national security at home and abroad.
Without Ukraine’s help, Schumer said, he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin “could fall on Ukraine and even Eastern Europe. “
McConnell said in a statement that the Senate will have to be “ready to act. “
“America’s sovereignty is being tested here at home, and our credibility is being tested through emboldened adversaries around the world,” McConnell said. to them. “
In an effort to overcome opposition from House Republicans, McConnell had insisted last year that adjustments to border policy be included in the national security spending package. However, in an immigration election year, Biden and many Democrats embraced the concept of strict border control. while Donald Trump and his allies criticized the proposed measures as insufficient.
Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, the third-ranking Republican in the House of Representatives and Trump’s closest best friend, was quick to denounce the bill as “an absolute failure” that would inspire illegal immigration.
Republicans are also reluctant to give Biden a political victory over a factor they see as one of his biggest vulnerabilities. They argued that presidents already have enough authority to curb illegal border crossings, a position that would make immigration remain a major factor in presidential elections. But at the same time, House Republicans have also been pushing for their own, tougher edition of border security legislation.
Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, told NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday morning that he wasn’t aware of the bill’s main points but thought the solution to border problems would be a difficult immigration proposal through the House.
The bill, which passed the House last year without a single Democratic vote, currently has no chance of getting the Democrats it would like in the Senate. Republican senators also tried to incorporate it into other legislation last year, but that effort only won. 46 votes.
“What we’re saying is we want to slow the flow,” Johnson said. He also made it clear that it was he — not Trump — who would decide whether or not to introduce the bill if it passed the Senate.
But in a further sign of Johnson’s resistance to the Senate package, he said Saturday that the House would vote on a separate $17. 6 billion package of military aid to Israel, a move that allows House Republicans to show their support for Israel outdoors in the Senate. .
It is not yet clear whether the bill will pass the Senate. Senate Republicans are divided over the bill, with many in McConnell’s ranks arguing that it is strong enough. Some were quick to say they would vote against it.
“I’m not going to accept this deal,” Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn. , said after the bill was made public.
The proposal seeks to take advantage of an asylum formula that has been battered by historic numbers of migrant arrivals at the border.
Immigrants seeking asylum, which provides coverage for others facing persecution in their home countries, would face a more difficult and faster procedure for evaluating their claims. Demand for initial interviews would increase and many would receive them within days of arriving at the border. Final decisions on their asylum programs would be made within months, rather than waiting years, as is the case recently. They will also get a painting permit if they pass the initial exams.
Independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, an Arizona independent who negotiated the border proposal, told reporters that the law would “immediately reassert control of our border, end catch-and-release policies, strengthen our flawed asylum system and border crisis. “
“The United States is and remains a bastion of hope for genuine asylum seekers,” he later said in a statement. “But it’s not an open door for economic migrants. As we know, it has been dramatically exploited through the cartels over the past few years. “last 4 or five years. “
If the number of illegal border crossings exceeds 5,000 per day for an average of five days, a deportation authority will automatically come into play so that migrants who cross illegally are deported without the option to apply for asylum. If this number reaches 4,000, the presidential administrations will have the option of the new authority. Under the proposal, immigrants would still be able to apply at ports of entry.
Biden, referring to that authority, said he would use it to “close the border” as soon as the bill became law.
The bill would allocate $20 billion to immigration enforcement, adding the hiring of thousands of new officers to evaluate asylum claims and hundreds of Border Patrol agents, as well as investments for local governments that have noticed an influx of migrants.
Among Democrats, the stricter asylum criteria have raised concerns, especially among progressive and Hispanic lawmakers. Alex Padilla, D-Calif. , said in a statement that the proposal would always cause “more chaos at the border, not less. “
The $14 billion in the package intended for military support for Israel could also splinter Democratic votes. Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent of Vermont, is pushing to strip $10 billion for offensive weaponry for Israel from the package while maintaining money for defensive systems.
Schumer said he would schedule a key vote on the law on Wednesday.
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