Senators’ Top Target in Border Talks: Tighter Asylum Rules for Migrants; Republicans Want to Pair Border Security with Aid for Ukraine. Here’s Why That Makes a Deal So Tough

Senators’ Top Target in Border Talks: Tighter Asylum Rules for Migrants:

Republicans insist on changes to immigration policy as condition for backing Ukraine aid package

Tightening the initial standard immigrants must meet when applying for asylum could form the basis of a bipartisan border agreement in the Senate, where a group of lawmakers is racing to strike a deal before the end of this year that could unlock billions of dollars in aid to Ukraine.

Senate Republicans have demanded a crackdown on asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border as a condition for backing President Biden’s request for emergency funding for Ukraine, part of a $106 billion proposal that also includes aid for Israel and Taiwan as well as money to bolster the immigration system. Senate Democrats have acknowledged that changes to border policy will likely be part of any deal.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) said Sunday that he plans to bring the Ukraine package to the floor as soon as the week of Dec. 4. He said Republicans, by insisting on attaching border policy changes, had “injected a decades-old, hyper-partisan issue into overwhelmingly bipartisan priorities.” But he said talks continued through the Thanksgiving break, and Democrats “stand ready to work on common-sense solutions” related to the border.

Democrats have a 51-49 majority, but any legislation will require 60 votes to advance in the chamber and will also need to clear the GOP-controlled House. Biden’s aid proposal includes money to speed up processing of migrants at the border but no changes to policy.

“Without the policy changes, funding by itself is not going to directly impact future flows” of immigrants, said Sen. Thom Tillis (R., N.C.), one of the Republicans’ lead negotiators.

“In return for providing additional funding for Ukraine, we have to have significant and substantial reforms to our border policy,” said Sen. Tom Cotton (R., Ark.) on Fox News Sunday.

Overhauling the immigration system has long been one of the thorniest tasks before Congress and deep political divisions on the issue have kept lawmakers from passing any major changes since 1996. —>READ MORE HERE

Republicans want to pair border security with aid for Ukraine. Here’s why that makes a deal so tough:

As Congress returns to session this week, lawmakers will be trying to forge an agreement on sending a new round of wartime assistance to Ukraine. But to succeed, they will have to find agreement on an issue that has confounded them for decades.

Republicans in both chambers of Congress have made clear that they will not support additional aid for Ukraine unless it is paired with border security measures to help manage the influx of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border. Their demand has injected one of the most contentious issues in American politics into a foreign policy debate that was already difficult.

Time is short for a deal.

A small, bipartisan group in the Senate is taking the lead and working to find a narrow compromise that can overcome a likely filibuster by winning 60 votes. But even if they can reach a modest agreement, there is no guarantee it would pass the House, where Republicans are insisting on wholesale changes to U.S. border and immigration policies.

Republicans hope that Democrats will feel political pressure to accept some of their border proposals after illegal crossings topped a daily average of more than 8,000 earlier this fall. President Joe Biden, who is running for reelection next year, has faced pressure even from fellow Democrats over the migrant flow.

No matter what, finding compromise will be exceedingly difficult. As they left for Thanksgiving break, Senate negotiators said they were still far apart.

A look at some of the issues under discussion and why they have proved so difficult to resolve:

Asylum and humanitarian parole

Changing the asylum system for migrants is a top priority for Republicans. They want to make it more difficult for asylum-seekers to prove in initial interviews that they have a credible fear of political, religious or racial persecution in their home country before advancing toward asylum in the United States.

Republicans in the House have passed legislation that would detain families at the border, require migrants to make the asylum claim at an official port of entry and either detain them or require them to remain outside the U.S. while their case is processed. —>READ MORE HERE

Source