DThe bill to reform the United States' migration policy had not even been published before it was declared dead. And so it only took a few hours after the actual announcement on Sunday before the critics attacked the deal again. The law is “even worse than we expected,” House Speaker Mike Johnson, Republican, wrote on Platform . When it arrives in the House of Representatives, the draft will be wiped off the table.
Senators from both parties spent months negotiating the $118 billion deal, which, in addition to measures to drastically restrict migration, also includes aid for Israel and Ukraine. For a moment, it seemed as if bipartisan negotiations could result in getting the first significant border deal in decades through Congress. But Donald Trump intervened from the sidelines to bury the deal – which could be seen as a Biden victory ahead of November's presidential election. On Sunday he wrote of a “mass amnesty” for illegal migrants.
After publishing the draft on Sunday, President Biden, in turn, called on Congress to pass it quickly. For him, the deal meant significant concessions on the issue of migration. Biden would commit to temporarily closing the southern border to most migrants from Mexico if there are more than 5,000 attempted illegal crossings per day in a week. It would also end the practice of apprehending migrants crossing the border illegally and releasing them into the country pending a hearing with immigration authorities. Instead, they would be arrested immediately and their asylum applications would be decided while they were in custody. Republican critics portray it as if the Democrats were allowing 5,000 illegal immigrants per day with the deal.
Criticism also comes from the democratic side
But criticism also comes from the democratic side. The left wing particularly criticizes the lack of opportunity for the eleven million undocumented immigrants in the United States to work towards citizenship, including the so-called Dreamers, children of immigrants. This has long been a core demand of the Democrats for any law on migration policy. In the Senate, on the other hand, the Democrats are dependent on every vote of their own because of the resistance from the Republicans.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer wants to introduce the bill into the chamber on Wednesday. Senators must “tune out the noise of those who want to see this agreement fail for the sake of their own political agenda,” the Democrat said in a statement on Sunday evening. However, it is unlikely that the bill will ultimately make it through Congress. A majority of Republican members of the House of Representatives spoke out against the deal on Sunday.
This also means that Biden's attempt to implement further aid for Ukraine with the help of concessions in migration policy has failed. The package provides around half of the money, $60 billion, for Kiev. A large part of the aid would consist of arms deliveries and military equipment. A third of the money is also earmarked to replenish American equipment stocks following deliveries to Ukraine. On Sunday, Biden referred to the “cost to America” of denying Kiev further support. “As we have said before: Putin’s hunger for power and control will not stop in Ukraine if we do not stop him,” the statement said. Regarding the $14 billion for Israel, Biden spoke of crucial resources that Israel needs “to defend itself against the Hamas terrorists.” Among other things, the draft provides around five billion dollars for missile defense systems.
In recent days, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives has once again announced its own package for aid to Israel. This would provide $17 billion for Israel, but no money for Ukraine. However, this is unlikely to be successful either: a similar draft failed in the Senate in November. The Democratic minority leader in the House of Representatives, Hakeem Jeffries, also spoke of a “cynical attempt to undermine the bipartisan efforts of the Senate”.
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