Senators unveiled a long-awaited border deal and foreign aid package with assistance for Ukraine and Israel on Sunday, paving the way for a key vote in the chamber this week in which the legislation is at risk of failing and, if it does pass, setting up a clash with the House.
The deal aims to empower the US to significantly restrict illegal migrant crossings at the southern border. If passed, it would dramatically change immigration law for the first time in decades. The full legislative package has a topline of $118.2 billion.
The border deal has placed one of the most vexing political issues at the center of President Joe Biden’s foreign policy agenda and forced him to take a tougher stance on an issue that has been a liability ahead of November.
The compromise would implement strict limits along the US southern border that have not been previously enshrined into law and would, in effect, severely curtail asylum at the US-Mexico border, a break with decades-long protocol.
It’s the product of months of bipartisan negotiations with a trio of senators – Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma, one of the chamber’s most conservative Republicans. But former President Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson have attacked the border deal as too weak, and their opposition threatens to derail the legislation, which includes aid to Ukraine and Israel at a critical time as the two US allies are embroiled in wars.
If Congress is unable to pass the legislative package, lawmakers will have to decide whether to try to pass aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan separately from border and immigration measures.
Johnson announced Saturday that the House will vote this week on a standalone…
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