Order on the US southern border in exchange for assistance to Ukraine: the Senate published a bipartisan agreement

US senators have unveiled a long-awaited bipartisan agreement. The main topics of the bill are the fight against illegal immigration on the US-Mexico border, as well as the provision of new assistance to Ukraine and Israel, reports with the BBC.

Photo: IStock

The bill introduces much tougher measures at the border. This should stop its illegal crossing, the level of which is breaking all records. This influx of illegal immigrants is one of the biggest political challenges facing Joe Biden.

The Democratic-led Senate will vote on the bill this week, but House Republicans have already rejected it.

“Any consideration of this Senate bill in its current form is a waste of time. “He was dead on arrival in the House,” four top Republican leaders said in a joint statement Feb. 5. “We urge the US Senate to reject it.”

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The $120 billion deal includes $60 billion to support Ukraine in its fight against Russia and $14 billion to help ensure Israel's security.

The military aid became part of the border deal with Mexico as Republicans said they would not allow more money to be sent to Ukraine until action was taken to resolve the migrant crisis.

In his February 5 evening speech, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell urged his colleagues to support the measure.

“The gaping hole at our nation’s southern border will not close on its own under President Biden’s watch,” he said.

Immigration was the main issue that drove Republicans to the polls in support of Donald Trump. He is the favorite to defeat Biden in the November general election. Facing growing public anger over the influx of migrants, President Biden in January vowed to "close the border now and get it back up and running quickly" if Congress sent a bill to his desk.

The bill, which had been in negotiations for several months between senators from both parties, was introduced on the evening of February 4. But Republicans began rejecting the measure even before any legislative text was released. They argue that border reforms are not enough to stabilize the situation.

What's going on at the border

Since President Biden took office in January 2021, more than 6,3 million migrants have been apprehended crossing the U.S. border illegally between ports of entry, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Of those, about 2,4 million have been admitted to the States, where most are awaiting immigration court dates. They will then be able to apply for asylum. The system is so overloaded that it could take years.

A January poll shows nearly half of Americans view the situation at the border as a crisis, with 63% saying the administration should adopt tougher policies.

More than two-thirds of Americans said they disapproved of Biden's handling of the issue.

“Immigration is Biden’s Achilles heel,” said Tony Payan, director of the U.S.-Mexico Center at the Baker Institute at Rice University in Texas. "Republicans have been very successful in keeping the issue in the headlines and linking Biden to what they call 'chaos' at the border and the 'invasion' of migrants."

What's in the new agreement

The 370-page agreement would move away from the current catch-and-release system to a system in which migrants would be detained and deported, GOP negotiator James Lankford said.

Senator Lankford brokered the deal with fellow Democrat Chris Murphy and independent colleague Kyrsten Sinema. If passed, the legislation would be the largest immigration reform since Reagan in the 1980s.

Among the most significant changes to the agreement is a new federal authority that mandates a complete border closure when the number of migrants crosses a threshold of 5000 per week.

In practice, this would mean that migrants who came to the US illegally would no longer be allowed to seek asylum and would be deported shortly thereafter. Adam Isaacson, a migration and border expert at the Washington Office on Latin America, said the change marks a "radical" departure from current norms.

The new bill, he said, harks back to the spirit of Trump's presidency, which took a particularly hard line on immigration and introduced Title 42. It was a pandemic-era measure that allowed migrants to be expelled quickly.

Other reforms included in the agreement include faster decisions on asylum cases, limits on parole, expanded powers to remove migrants from the US, tougher penalties for illegal border crossings and even $650 million to build or strengthen a border wall.

Isakson said these measures were considered unthinkable in U.S. politics until recently.

In approving the deal on Feb. 4, Biden called it the “toughest and fairest” border reform in decades.

“It would give me, as president, new emergency powers to close the border when it becomes congested. Put it on my desk so I can sign it immediately,” Biden said.

What's next

The bill needs at least 60 votes to pass the 100-member Senate, and it is unclear whether it can pass that threshold.

“Such an agreement is a big no.” It looks like a parody of the real border security bill,” said Marco Rubio, a Republican senator from Florida.

Widespread opposition to the deal among House Republicans means the immigration bill is unlikely to ever become law. Many are calling for stricter restrictions on asylum, limiting programs that allow migrants to live and work in the U.S. while they await hearings.

House Republican leaders said the bill could not pass their chamber because it "fails in every policy area needed to secure our border and will actually encourage more illegal immigration."

That prompted Democrats to accuse their colleagues of bowing to pressure from Trump, who has urged his allies on Capitol Hill to kill the bill.

On the morning of February 5, after details of the deal became known, Trump said on his Truth Social platform that “only a fool or a radical leftist Democrat” would vote for the “horrific” bill.

“This bill is a great gift for Democrats,” he added. “And a death wish for the Republican Party.”

Experts say Trump's influence has clouded the negotiations.

“Allowing the Biden administration to fail is exactly what the Trump campaign wants,” Isakson concluded. “They want more chaos during the election campaign.”

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But some Democrats also expressed dissatisfaction with the bill.

Pramila Jayapal, a congresswoman from Washington, said its provisions "are not serious reform and once again throw immigrants under the political bus."

“I cannot support a proposal that does not learn from 30 years of data and will only repeat our mistakes - with the lives of migrants at gunpoint,” she concluded.

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