Long-Awaited Border Bill Unveiled by Senators

Paresh Jadhav

11 months ago

Oklahoma Republican Sen. Jim Lankford and his Democratic and independent colleagues collaborated over months on crafting a bipartisan legislation bill, which empowers President Trump to close down the border if migrants crossing into America pass certain thresholds, raise the standard of who qualifies for asylum, and accelerate processing for claims filed with that process.

Senators unveil $118 billion bipartisan border security bill

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Asylum

Oklahoma Republican Senator Jim Lankford, Connecticut Democrat Chris Murphy and Arizona Independent Kyrsten Sinema have collaborated for months on developing legislation to address America’s border crisis. As part of this process, they created a $118 billion package which overhauls asylum laws, increases military aid to Ukraine and Israel and makes significant security enhancements along its border.

The legislation would call for a temporary shutdown of all US-Mexico border crossings exceeding 5,000 per day, adjust standards to determine who qualifies for asylum, expedite removal processes and restrict humanitarian parole programs that permit migrants to work while their asylum cases are pending.

But the bill faces many hurdles to its passage. Given widespread GOP opposition – including from House Majority Leader Steve Scalise himself – to it, and its inclusion of $14 billion worth of military aid for Israel which may divide Democratic votes further, passage may prove unlikely in its current form.

Border Security

This 370-page agreement, brokered by Republican James Lankford, Democratic Chris Murphy and independent Kyrsten Sinema would represent one of the biggest border security and immigration reform packages since decades. If passed into law, it would raise asylum eligibility standards and remove migrants who do not pass initial screening, speed up cases while giving the president authority to close down border crossings over multiple days if crossings exceed 5,000 per day over multiple days.

At present, however, its chances seem dim as caravan-related issues have become a central focus in Trump’s 2024 campaign and former President publicly encouraged Republican lawmakers to oppose it. Furthermore, it remains uncertain if enough senators support it to meet procedural thresholds (60 votes are needed in the 100-member Senate for any procedural agreement to avoid filibusters), while even before seeing any details, conservative senators have already denounced this legislation and some members of Lankford’s home state Republican Party even voted censure him for his involvement with negotiations.

Foreign Aid

Bipartisan senators have reached an agreement on a package to tighten immigration and asylum laws while freeing up aid to Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan. The 370-page bill contains provisions designed to raise standards for asylum screening; reduce backlog cases in immigration court; end catch and release practices and create temporary authority allowing President Joe Biden to bar migrants from seeking asylum if border crossings reach certain threshold levels; however this threshold level remains undecided.

This week, Congressional leaders have pledged to debate and approve a foreign aid portion of their bill; its future remains uncertain. Some Republicans have stated their opposition unless aid for Israel and Ukraine can be disentangled from border changes; Democrats remain divided on how best to spend $14 billion for military funding for Israel that could fracture their ranks. Effective poverty-focused aid is key for long-term economic growth and global security; improving corn farmer yields in Kenya or providing secondary school education are examples.

Taxes

After months of talks and negotiations, senators have come to an agreement on a bipartisan package of stricter immigration and border laws for $118 billion. It includes measures designed to limit illegal border crossings, tighten asylum standards and expand port of entry capacities.

The bill also allocates new funding for tunnel task forces and nonintrusive screening technologies, and authorizes $10 billion to upgrade and expand vehicle, rail cargo and pedestrian inspection lanes at ports of entry.

Conservative Republicans denounced the Senate plan as an open-borders bill, while progressive senators expressed concerns that its $14 billion provision for military aid to Israel might fracture Democratic votes. House Speaker Mike Johnson of Texas warned that their proposal wouldn’t receive a vote in their chamber.