A bipartisan group currently negotiating a border bill is scheduled to convene over the weekend and one GOP negotiator predicts it could result in an agreement.
But many Senate Democrats, such as members of Texas’s Congressional Hispanic Caucus, remain wary of any deal that includes asylum reform in exchange for aid for Ukraine and Israel.
What is the This Crisis?
The border crisis refers to an ongoing migrant influx from Central America into the United States. This migration surge is driven by poor economic conditions, lack of security in Central American regions and climate-change-induced natural disasters that make people leave their homelands.
Over the past two years, hundreds of thousands of migrants have made the journey from Mexico to the US-Mexico border – mostly families with children, drawn by violence or hope of seeking asylum here. This massive influx has overwhelmed our immigration system; as a response, Senate bipartisan lawmakers proposed overhauling it by instituting tougher enforcement measures and creating an unprecedented “expulsion authority”, giving presidents power to send back migrants who have made multiple asylum claims.
Deirdre Walsh of NPR congressional correspondent service provides her analysis on why this bill will likely not pass.
Migration Trends
Current migration trends are being propelled by long-standing poverty, economic and political unrest, and two hurricanes within one year that left extensive devastation behind them. Neoliberal economic policies push Global South workers toward seeking opportunities elsewhere while criminalizing attempts at asylum.
Drug smuggling is another major threat that places Border Patrol agents and American families in jeopardy. Fentanyl alone has caused over 700 American deaths each day alone from overdoses alone!
House Oversight Committee members have been working to understand the root causes of the Southwest border crisis by interviewing Chief Border Patrol Agents from each sector along that border. Last week, we released our staff report with their stories; now our aim is to make sure these narratives reach American people by electing leaders who support an orderly immigration system which protects America’s sovereignty, security, and values.
Bipartisan Group
As the bipartisan group discussing border policy issues continues to meet, members have discussed various possible changes. One such proposal involves expanding short-term detention capacity so more individuals can be quickly processed for asylum applications.
Sinema proposes giving presidents new powers to expel migrants without valid protection claims immediately, citing how the current system is overwhelmed and needs an overhaul in order to increase processing speeds and shorten waiting times.
She recommends that the White House allocate more funding towards humanitarian needs of people seeking asylum at the border, rather than security measures, which would free up billions for more humane and efficient processing and support services – it would also be more cost-effective than Trump administration’s approach, which prioritizes border security over humane needs.
Border Restrictions
If the Senate reaches an agreement to address the crisis, it could face fierce resistance in the House. Speaker Johnson and other Republican hard-liners have made clear they demand serious border restrictions as a condition for supporting Ukraine aid package; Democratic progressives and Hispanic caucus members fear such legislation would limit asylum access.
Lankford, Chris Murphy and Kyrsten Sinema have proposed an emerging plan in the Senate which would impose stricter asylum standards by raising eligibility standards and expediting case evaluations more rapidly – but doesn’t include any means to citizenship.
Some Republicans also assert that the new tools provided by the plan won’t make an impactful statement about future presidents – however veteran congressional negotiator Mario Diaz-Balart believes the Senate proposal can empower a future leader. According to him, we are adding more tools into our toolbox so that any new president may use them effectively to secure our borders.”
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