Bipartisan Senate group releases text of Ukraine-immigration agreement

The bipartisan group of Senators that have negotiated since late last year released the text of their legislation that would restrict immigration in exchange for aid to Ukraine and Israel.

The group—comprised of Republican Senator James Langford of Oklahoma, Independent Senator Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Democratic Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut—released the text of the legislation on Sunday night after months of back-and-forth. The bill’s total price tag is approximately $118bn

President Joe Biden praised the bill on Sunday evening, calling it the “toughest and fairest” border reform legislation in “decades.”

“Now, House Republicans have to decide,” Mr Biden added. “Do they want to solve the problem? Or do they want to keep playing politics with the border? I’ve made my decision. I’m ready to solve the problem.”

The senators introduced several provisions that further restrict immigration to the US.

The bipartisan bill would require the Department of Homeland Security to shut down the US-Mexico border when they record an average of 5,000 migrants crossing per day over seven days. The legislation also provides $650m to build and reinforce several miles of the border wall, Mr Langford said in a statement.

Furthermore, it would also further restrict the practice of “catch and release,” in which border officials detain and interview migrants before permitting them to enter the US and go to court at a later date.

“What we are doing is detaining folks upon their entrance to the country and then using a higher initial standard so that we can better determine who was an economic migrant and who may have a valid claim at asylum,” Ms Sinema told reporters Sunday night.

“If they can prove that they’re fleeing violence and persecution, they will be released into the country with a work permit, and they will also be under supervision for an additional 90 days until their final asylum determination occurs,” she continued.

These stricter immigration policies come in exchange for aid to Ukraine and Israel, which both Mr Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer praised in Sunday evening statements.

“[The bill] provides billions in vital investments in America’s national security to address growing threats in the Middle East and Red Sea, equips Ukraine to fight off Putin, helps Israel defend itself against forces that wish to wipe a Jewish state off the map while also providing humanitarian assistance to innocent Palestinian civilians in Gaza, answers the call for humanitarian assistance around the world, and bolsters Taiwan and other allies in the Indo-Pacific region against China,” Mr Schumer said.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, praised Mr Langford’s work on the bill while attacking the Biden administration.

But hardline conservatives began to oppose the bill almost as soon as the bipartisan group released text.

Congressman Eli Crane of Arizona, who has criticised the negotiations in the past, vocally opposed the bill. “As expected, the Senate’s border bill is another spineless sellout by the establishment that does nothing to protect Americans and instead, legitimizes an invasion,” he said in a statement on X.

He also criticised the fact that the legislation also included money for Ukraine, which he called, “their main priority.”

“President Biden’s campaign promise to welcome illegal aliens at the border overwhelmed a broken asylum system that unified Republican government had tried desperately to fix in the face of Democrat obstruction,” Mr McConnell said in a statement.

Many Republicans in the Senate opposed the agreement before the text was even available. In addition, House Speaker Mike Johnson has previously said the agreement is “dead on arrival” in the House of Representatives. Conservatives in the House have said the legislation is insufficient and they have pushed their own legislation, known as the Secure the Border Act.

Republican Representative Tom Tiffany of Wisconsin condemned the bill on Sunday evening.

“Any border ‘shutdown’ that ALLOWS thousands of illegal crossings a day is a failure,” Mr Tiffany said on X. “And the Biden-Senate Amnesty Sellout ALLOWS up to 8,500 in a day before one.”

In addition, former president and presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump has come out against the agreement.

Republicans stipulated that they would not support additional aid to Ukraine in its fight against Russian President Vladimir Putin without restrictions to immigration.

Just days before Sunday night’s text came out, members of the GOP voted to advance articles of impeachment against Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. The articles, which will likely land on the House floor in coming days, accuse Mr Mayorkas of “willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law” by allowing the release of migrants awaiting legal proceedings and breached “public trust” when he told lawmakers the US-Mexico border was secure.

During the weekend, Mr Johnson released standalone legislation to aid Israel. But House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries criticised the bill and said it was an attempt to kill the Senate bill.

“There is reason to believe that this eleventh-hour standalone bill is a cynical attempt to undermine the Senate’s bipartisan effort, given that House Republicans have been ordered by the former president not to pass any border security legislation or assistance for Ukraine,” Mr Jeffries wrote in a “Dear Colleague” letter to Democratic members.

“Clearly, the most responsible legislative approach with respect to our national security needs is a comprehensive one,” Mr Jeffries added.