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Democrats in the House and Senate are outraged by reports that the White House is open to new asylum restrictions at the border in order to reach an agreement on its request for additional funding – with lawmakers accusing the White House of “selling out” migrants. to appease Republicans.
“It is truly shameful that President Biden and his administration are considering selling out migrants and asylum seekers to appease extreme Republicans who are endangering our national security and that of our allies, just to score a political point,” said Senator Bob Menendez, DN .J. said in a statement.
Discussions are currently underway between lawmakers and the administration over a request for additional funding that includes border funding as well as aid to Israel and Ukraine. The border portion would account for about $14 billion of the roughly $106 billion package.
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Migrants hit top 10,000 again in a single day as lawmakers seek new border restrictions
But Republicans have said the package does not contain enough restrictions on asylum and the use of humanitarian parole, and want measures to curb the release of migrants into the United States. Lawmakers argue that these releases act as an attraction factor for more migrants to come to the border.
Sen. Bob Menendez, D-NJ, accused Biden of proposing “callous and “inhumane” changes to the asylum system. (Fatih Aktas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
As talks appeared to stall and some Democrats expressed opposition to policy changes to restrict asylum, President Biden indicated last week that he was willing to make “significant compromises” on the issue.
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CBS News reported on Tuesday that the administration has now signaled it is open to a new border agency similar to Title 42 – the COVID-era order that allowed the rapid expulsion of migrants at the southern border by May of this year – , but without the need for a public health justification.
The administration was also reportedly open to a nationwide expansion of expedited removal, which allows recently arrived migrants to be quickly deported if they do not meet initial asylum standards. It is currently only used on and near borders. CBS reported that the White House was prepared to order the detention of certain migrants once their claims were assessed.
The White House and the Department of Homeland Security did not respond to Fox News Digital's requests for comment, but the White House told CBS that it “has not signed any specific policy proposals or final agreements and reports attributing specific policy positions.” is inaccurate.”
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5,000 illegal immigrants are released into the U.S. every day, administration officials privately tell lawmakers
December 12, 2023: Migrants are processed in Eagle Pass, Texas. (Fox News)
“The president has indicated he is willing to compromise, and we look forward to further discussions with Senate negotiators as we work toward a bipartisan package,” said spokesman Angelo Fernandez Hernandez.
Left-wing Democrats attacked the administration, accusing it of trying to revive Trump-era border and immigration practices.
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Menendez said it was “the height of absurdity that the Biden administration is proposing, with a straight face, callous and inhumane changes to our immigration system that President Trump could only dream of implementing.”
“There is no excuse for accepting failed Trump-era immigration policies,” said Sen. Alex Padilla, D-California.
“These cruel, extreme policies are complete nonsense to me and many other Democrats in Congress,” said Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash. “We need real, humane solutions to our immigration system and simply cannot trade actionable, lasting policy changes for one-time funding.”
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Rep. Delia Ramirez, D-Ill., called the reported proposals “regrettable. Irresponsible. Unacceptable.”
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“The fact that we are considering trading the lives of asylum seekers for the lives of Ukrainians is draconian and immoral,” she said.
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Meanwhile, some Democrats have said they would require any policy changes to be accompanied by a path to citizenship for some illegal immigrants already in the United States
It is also unclear whether a compromise package would get enough votes to pass the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, where top lawmakers have previously called for the entire Republican border security package to be part of a deal.
Meanwhile, there were another 10,000-plus encounters at the southern border on Tuesday alone, the latest in a surge that has overwhelmed several sectors.