WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Democrats are trying to move forward for a second time on a bill to limit the number of migrants allowed to seek asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border, as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said. Thursday sought to underscore Republican opposition to the proposal.
The legislation, negotiated by a bipartisan group of senators, was rejected by most Republicans in February when it was linked to a foreign aid package for Ukraine, Israel and other U.S. allies. But with immigration and border security becoming one of the top issues of this year’s elections, Democrats are looking for an answer to the barrage of attacks from the Republican Party, led by a presumptive Republican presidential nominee. Donald Trumpabout border security.
“Senators will face an important decision. Will both parties come together to advance a bipartisan border security bill, or will partisanship get in the way again?” Schumer, a New York Democrat, said this week.
Schumer is trying to defend a narrow Senate majority in this year’s elections and sees Republicans’ rejection of the deal they negotiated as a political “gift” to Democrats.
When the proposal was put forward in February, a test vote failed by a vote of 49 to 50 — far short of the 60 votes needed to advance. Although a majority of Democrats were expected to once again support the procedural vote to begin debate on the bill, the proposal appeared to lose steam in the Senate as even its main Republican author, Senator Senator, failed to pulling would come. James Lanford of Oklahoma, expressed support for Schumer’s move.
“This is trying to poke Republicans in the eye instead of saying, ‘How do we solve the problem?’” Lankford told reporters.
Republican leaders spent much of the week decrying the vote as a bald political maneuver and amplifying threadbare criticism of the president. Joe Biden: That he bears responsibility for the historic number of migrants who have found their way to the US in recent years.
“We are nearing the end of President Biden’s term, and the American people’s patience over his failure to secure the southern border is running thin,” Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said. Thursday.
Earlier this week, McConnell told reporters: “The president needs to step up – do everything he can do, because the legislation is clearly not going to provide clarity this year.”
Since the collapse of the Senate legislation in February, the Biden administration has been considering executive orders on border policy and immigration. It has already made some changes to the asylum system aimed at speeding up the processing and possible removal of migrants. Still, the Senate’s test vote this week was widely seen as part of a build-up to Biden enacting more sweeping border measures, possibly as early as June.
The Democratic president has considered using a provision in federal immigration law that would allow for the ability to block the entry of certain immigrants into the US if doing so would be “detrimental” to the national interest of the United States. Trump repeatedly used this authority while in the White House, but some of those actions ran into legal challenges.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told reporters Monday that legislation to address problems at the border — as opposed to executive action by the president — would be more effective. The Senate legislation would provide more money for Customs and Border Protection officers, asylum officers, immigration judges and scanning technology at the border — all things officials have said the underfunded Immigration and Border Protection system needs.
“Legislation provides tools that executive action does not,” Mayorkas said.
The Senate bill aims to take control of an asylum system that has become overwhelmed at times in the past year. It would ensure faster and stricter enforcement of the asylum process, and it would give presidents new powers to immediately expel migrants if the number of border officials encountered averages above 4,000 per day in a week.
Even before the bill was fully released earlier this year, Trump effectively killed the proposal by labeling it “pointless” and a “gift” to Biden’s re-election chances. Top Republicans soon followed suit and even McConnell, who had initially demanded negotiations on the border measures, voted against further progress.
A significant number of Democrats have also criticized the proposal, especially because it does not provide broad relief for immigrants who have already established lives in the United States.
“It fails to address the root causes of migration or create more legal pathways,” said Sen. Alex Padilla, a California Democrat.
The Congressional Hispanic Caucus said in a statement this week that the Senate bill “fails to meet this moment by proposing only enforcement policies and not including provisions that will keep families together.” They have pushed for executive action that would protect against deportation for immigrants who have lived in the U.S. for years or who have family ties to U.S. citizens.
Amid the tension, Biden’s reelection campaign met with CHC leadership on Wednesday to discuss relief efforts for Latinos, and Biden spoke on the phone with Rep. Nanette Barragán, the group’s chair. She discussed the reasons for the group’s resistance, according to a person familiar with the call who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private conversation.
Still, Thursday’s vote provided a new opportunity for Democratic senators facing tough reelection battles to show they support stricter border measures.
As Sen. Jon Tester tries to win a Democratic seat in the red-leaning state of Montana, he sent a letter to Biden earlier this month saying, “I will continue to fight for the bipartisan border security bill in Congress, but its failure is no excuse for your government’s inaction.”
