WASHINGTON — Senate negotiators on Sunday unveiled the long-awaited bipartisan deal to impose tougher immigration and asylum laws after months of negotiations.
The $118 billion package includes a series of provisions for asylum screening and to process claims faster, ends the practice known as “catch and release,” and provides a new authority to close the border when crossings reach a certain threshold.
The agreement was made by Sens. James Lankford (R-Okla.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn), and Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz). If passed, the bill would be the most aggressive border security and migration bill in decades.
“The Senate’s bipartisan agreement is a monumental step towards strengthening America’s national security abroad and along our borders,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement.
The bill faces an uphill battle to get passed as Senate Republicans have been hounded by former President Donald Trump to not pass the bill and allow Biden to get a win in an election year. Trump also falsely suggested that the bill would allow 5,000 illegal border crossings per day.
“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. It would give me, as President, a new emergency authority to shut down the border when it becomes overwhelmed,” President Joe Biden said in a statement. “I urge Congress to come together and swiftly pass this bipartisan agreement. Get it to my desk so I can sign it into law immediately.”
Lankford, who headed the negotiations for the GOP, touted the immigration changes in the legislation.
“The border security bill will put a huge number of new enforcement tools in the hands of a future administration and push the current Administration to finally stop the illegal flow,” Lankford said in a statement. “The bill provides funding to build the wall, increase technology at the border, and add more detention beds, more agents, and more deportation flights. The border security bill ends the abuse of parole on our southwest border that has waived in over a million people. It dramatically changes our ambiguous asylum laws by conducting fast screenings at a higher standard of evidence, limited appeals, and fast deportation.”
The bill was quickly shot down by several several members of the House Freedom Caucus and other conservatives in Congress. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Sunday night that “If this bill reaches the House, it will be dead on arrival.”
