Senate Bi-Partisan Border-Security Bill
By: Noga Margulies
Biden’s presidency has been plagued by the issue of immigration since the beginning of his term. Some argue that the numbers of undocumented crossing over the border were already rising before he came into the office and that this problem was not a result of the policies of the Biden Administration. Nevertheless, within the last couple of years, the numbers have surged, and mayors of cities and towns have been utterly unprepared for the influx of migrants. A large part of why the matter is not resolved is due to hyperpartisanship and a lack of compromise between the Republican and Democratic parties.
However, on February 4, 2024, the Senate introduced a bipartisan bill that was aimed at reducing the high level of illegal border crossings, as well as allocating emergency aid to Ukraine and Israel. One key component of the bill in regards to immigration was to end the “catch and release” policy, which is what allows migrants who claim asylum to enter the U.S. with an immigration court date years into the future. To remedy that, adults would be detained and undergo a 90 day asylum determination process. Families with children would be released with some sort of monitoring device. If they fail screenings or miss appointments, they become eligible for deportation. Ih bt aims to make asylum qualifications stricter by limiting the number of claims per day by allowing the government to shut down the border if the number of crossings exceed 4,000 for 7 days. 50,000 more green cards would be added and Afghans evacuated to the U.S. during the military withdrawal would be eligible to become permanent residents/citizens.
However, the bipartisan bill was sunk by Republicans who believed the policy needed to be harsher. Some of them also received a bit of a shove from Trump urging them to oppose it. The decision was especially hard for ICE since they are in a budget deficit and will not receive additional funding without the bill. As November’s elections grow closer, Biden will need to be able to pass something that can surmount to positive change. His March 7th State of the Union address will either cast blame on the Republicans for shutting down the deal and exacerbating immigration issues or it will provide a different plan to tackle the problem.
Sources
Congress Isn’t Going to Fix the Southern Border. Can Biden? - WSJ
How the Bipartisan Border Security Bill Would ‘Shut Down’ Illegal Crossings - WSJ
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https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-senate-unveils-118-billion-bipartisan-bill-tighten-border-security-aid-2024-02-04/