A top Senate negotiator working on a deal that would combine border security reform with support for U.S. allies such as Ukraine and Israel said Sunday that the deal could be considered on the Senate floor this week.
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) told CNN that lawmakers are “currently finalizing the document,” but that he believes Republicans will “listen” to former President Donald Trump and gain support. He warned that rejecting the proposed compromise could jeopardize the “bipartisan agreement.” by the Biden administration.
“I’m hopeful that there are still enough Republicans in the Senate who want to solve the border issue rather than do what President Donald Trump says, but we’ll see in the next 24 to 48 hours whether that’s true or not,” Murphy said. You’ll find out,” he said. .
I continued @CNNSOTU This morning we’re here to discuss the bipartisan immigration bill and how it will better manage the flow of people at our southern border. Despite Donald Trump’s desire to maintain border chaos, we should pass this bill because it will help him politically. pic.twitter.com/7inviqO4rH
— Chris Murphy 🟧 (@ChrisMurphyCT) January 28, 2024
Trump, who won the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary and is now the front-runner in the 2024 Republican presidential race, will seek to implement immigration reform and meet President Joe Biden’s call last year. It seeks to discourage compromise in negotiations and provide about $106 billion in additional funding. He will spend not only on border security and humanitarian aid, but also on U.S. allies including Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.
“I have everything I need to stop the invasion of millions of people, many from unknown regions, into this once great and soon to be great country. I don’t think we should have a border agreement at all unless there is.” ” he said in a post on Truth Social this month.
The purported details of the unannounced deal have emerged over the past few weeks. One of the parts that is said to be drawing pushback from Republicans is the part reported by Fox News, which said that the number of encounters per day would be used to trigger Title 42-like authorities to quickly remove immigrants at the border. The idea is to set a seven-day moving average threshold where the number exceeds 5,000.
“This bill would normalize the entry of 5,000 people per day, which is more than 1.8 million people per year. That’s called an invasion,” said Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas). ) said. “By the way, below, [President] Joe Biden, we got 9.6 million. So the biggest Republican compromise is that we support two-thirds of the border that Joe Biden opens. Enter 6 million instead of 9 million. This makes no sense at all. ”
Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.), who is working with Mr. Murphy to finalize the compromise, said Cruz when asked to confirm whether the 5,000 encounters standard was part of the deal. He pushed back against his criticism and insisted that this clause was part of the agreement. The problem is misunderstood.
Sen. Lankford dismissed media reports that the Senate border bill would allow up to 5,000 illegal immigrants per day as “Internet rumors.”
“This bill focuses on reducing daily illegal crossings to zero…This is the most misunderstood section…” pic.twitter.com/6u4Ro9HJ6j
— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) January 28, 2024
“There are rumors going around on the internet right now. That’s how many people are moving. It’s just ridiculous to agree to 5,000 people a day,” he said on “Fox News Sunday” with anchor Shannon Bream. It argued that the section was designed to close the border in the event of a “rush of people.” .
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“This bill focuses on getting to zero illegal crossings per day. There will be no amnesty. We will also increase the number of Border Patrol agents, we will increase the number of asylum officers. By creating more detention beds. , allowing individuals to be quickly detained and deported,” he added. “This ends catch-and-release. We are focusing on additional deportation flights. This will transform our asylum process so people can return to their home countries with higher standards and faster asylum reviews.” It will be.”
Lankford also dismissed critics who argue that the deal, while still allowing more people into the country, gives Biden a political victory to brag about in an election year.
Fox: Why give this to Biden in an election year? He will take a victory lap.
Sen. James Lankford: Four months ago, Republicans weren’t going to give money to Ukraine, Israel, border states, where we demanded policy changes…and now…they’re like, “You’re kidding.” .pic.twitter.com/cqEe7mAywp
— Intellectual (@highbrow_nobrow) January 28, 2024
“Interestingly, four months ago, Republicans demanded a policy change that defunded Ukraine, Israel, and the southern border. So we actually folded our arms and said, “This includes I won’t pay any money,” he said. We want the law changed,” Lanford said. “And now, it’s interesting, a few months later, when we finally get to the end, they’re like, ‘Oh, I’m kidding, but actually we don’t want to change the law because it’s an election year.’ ‘ We all take an oath to the Constitution and we all have a promise to do whatever we can to protect our borders. ”
