Senate Republicans Demand U.S. Border Clampdown as Condition for Ukraine Aid; Senate Republicans Demand Changes to ‘broken’ Asylum System as Part of Biden’s Emergency Spending Request; Senate Republicans Unveil Border Security Demands for Ukraine Funding

WSJ: Senate Republicans Demand U.S. Border Clampdown as Condition for Ukraine Aid:

A group of Senate Republicans are demanding a crackdown on asylum claims at the southern border and other policy changes as a condition for backing President Biden’s $106 billion request for supplemental funding for Israel and Ukraine, the first move in what is expected to be a wrenching fight over approving the package.

The one-page proposal, put forward by a group of Republican senators including Sens. James Lankford (R., Okla.), Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) and Tom Cotton (R., Ark.), represents the opening bid in negotiations with Senate Democrats and the White House, which has signaled some openness to immigration-policy changes. Biden’s request included money for border operations, but didn’t include any policy changes.

The GOP-controlled House passed its own bill last week that provides $14.3 billion for Israel—offset by stripping money from the Internal Revenue Service—but leaves out funding for Ukraine, Taiwan and other parts of the Biden proposal. Senate Democrats have called the House GOP proposal dead on arrival and are working with Republicans, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.), to craft a broader package based on the Biden request.

On Monday, the Republican group released a blueprint of the changes it would want to see to the immigration system, modeled largely on House Republicans’ border bill passed earlier this year, known as H.R. 2. Overall, the changes would make it tougher for migrants to make an asylum claim in the U.S. and more difficult to win a case if they try. Separately, the proposal looks to shut down the Biden administration’s use of an immigration tool known as humanitarian parole, which allows migrants to make appointments to enter at a legal port of entry.

Illegal border crossings have reached record highs over the past two years, and the flow of migrants from countries like Venezuela, which hadn’t typically sent large numbers of immigrants to the U.S., has meant a large number have been depending on housing provided by cities including New York and Chicago after they arrive.

The GOP changes to the asylum system would largely codify programs tried by the Trump administration. The blueprint would, for example, require the government to first try to send asylums seeker to a third “safe” country to make an asylum claim, rather than allowing them to stay in the U.S. If that is not possible, it would require the government to send asylum seekers to live in Mexico for the duration of their immigration cases, which can currently take months or years to complete.

If both programs aren’t possible—for example, if the U.S. is unable to strike deals with Mexico or other countries—migrants would be allowed to make asylum claims only at ports of entry, which the government can close or limit at will. Migrants also would be subject to a higher initial asylum screening standard, which would mean more could be quickly deported once they fail to meet the higher threshold. Migrant families traveling with underage children could be held indefinitely in immigration detention, overturning a 2015 court decision saying children must be released from federal custody after about 20 days.—>READ MORE HERE

NY POST: Senate Republicans demand changes to ‘broken’ asylum system as part of Biden’s emergency spending request:

Senate Republicans are demanding an overhaul to America’s “broken asylum process” as a condition for passing President Biden’s $106 billion emergency spending request to Congress.

Members of the Senate Republican Working Group released a one-page document Monday titled “Solutions for the Southern Border Crisis” which outlines several policy changes aimed at shrinking the number of migrants that pass through the US-Mexico border.

The GOP working group, whose members include Sens. James Lankford (R-Okla.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), hope to attach the migrant asylum and parole modifications to the 80-year-old president’s national security supplemental, which requests more than $61 billion for Ukraine, $14.3 billion for Israel and $14 billion for border security.

“The crisis at the southern border is a direct result of failed policies. The Senate Republican Working Group is presenting solutions to fix these failed policies, instead of simply throwing more money at the ever-worsening problem,” the document, inspired by the House GOP’s Secure the Border Act – H.R. 2 – which passed in May, states.

“These solutions, drawn from those found in H.R. 2, prioritize the concrete and significant policy reforms that are most critical to securing the border and stemming the flow of migrants immediately. Securing our southern border should be a key component of our national security,” the lawmakers argue.

Senate Republicans call US asylum laws “the top loophole that ‘pulls’ illegal aliens” across the border.

In their proposal, the GOP working group demands that migrants be ineligible for asylum if they have transited through at least one country outside their home country before arriving in the US. —>READ MORE HERE

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