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Republicans drew a deep line in the sand Tuesday over border security, saying no spending bill can pass until Democrats agree to major changes that would stop the unprecedented surge of illegal immigrants.
With the Homeland Security Department detecting roughly 10,000 illegal arrivals every day now, Republicans said President Biden must accept changes if he wants Congress to approve his $106 billion national security spending request.
“The world is on fire on multiple fronts and getting worse every day. There will be no assistance to other nations who are deserving until we assist our own nation,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican who has been active in immigration negotiations for more than a decade, told fellow senators.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, Louisiana Republican, reinforced the line in a letter to Shalanda D. Young, director of the Office of Management and Budget. He told her that Mr. Biden must commit to “transformative change” to solve the border crisis if he wants the rest of the money.
“The open U.S. border is an unconscionable and unsustainable catastrophe, and we have a moral responsibility to insist this madness stops immediately,” Mr. Johnson wrote. “It is well past time for the Administration to meaningfully engage with us.”
Senators face a first test vote on Mr. Biden’s request Wednesday.
Mr. Graham said Republicans will filibuster to block the spending unless Democrats agree to reverse Biden border policies to reduce the number of illegal immigrants streaming into the country.
Mr. Biden is looking for $61.4 billion in funding to send arms and economic assistance to Ukraine, $14.3 billion for Israel to fight its war with Hamas, $14 billion for the border and money for varying other needs.
The Israel money is wildly popular and could pass on its own. The Ukraine money is controversial, particularly among Republicans who control the House.
Mr. Biden hoped to buy Republican support with border money, but Republicans say cash won’t stop the surge and the president must reverse or change his policies.
“We’re stuck, and there will be no deal until the policy changes that will lead to people not coming at the levels they’re coming today,” Mr. Graham said.
Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat, said that was “a price unacceptable to Democrats.”
He said the Republican proposals to stem the flow of illegal immigrants “come straight from Donald Trump.”
He also said Republican leaders are using the border as a smokescreen to cover their divisions over Ukraine.
“If Republicans are holding up aid to Ukraine because they want us to work with them on border, the onus is on them to present to us a realistic, bipartisan proposal that can actually pass the Senate with aid to Ukraine as well,” he said. “And we need a bipartisan proposal that can get broad support of Democrats, not just one or two while the rest of us are strongly in opposition.”
Mr. Graham accused Mr. Schumer’s negotiators of doing the same by targeting some Republicans with weak border resolve.
“You’re playing a game of doing the least amount possible to pick 10 or 12 of us off. It ain’t happening,” Mr. Graham said.
The White House sent a letter this week demanding urgency. The administration said funding earmarked for Ukraine will be depleted at the end of this month, which will tip the balance of power in the war more toward Russia.
“We are out of money to support Ukraine in this fight. This isn’t a next year problem. The time to help a democratic Ukraine fight against Russian aggression is right now,” Ms. Young wrote to Mr. Johnson on Monday.
In his response, Mr. Johnson pointed out that she didn’t mention the border in her letter, ignoring the most critical issue to Republicans.
He reminded Ms. Young that the House has already passed an Israel funding package that could clear the Senate and be signed into law immediately if the White House pressures Mr. Schumer.
Democrats acknowledge that the border chaos is unsustainable, and a bipartisan group of senators has been working on an immigration deal.
They reported progress on changes to curtail abuse of the asylum system. Many illegal immigrants make bogus asylum claims with the knowledge that they will eventually lose their cases. They are allowed to remain in the U.S. for the years it takes to render a decision, giving them a chance to burrow into American communities.
The bigger hurdle is curtailing “parole” powers. Republicans say Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has abused that power to admit millions of unauthorized migrants.
That includes parole for tens of thousands of Afghans during the chaotic 2021 airlift, a special parole program for Ukrainians, another program for unauthorized Haitians, Cubans, Venezuelans and Nicaraguans who promise to avoid the southern border and fly into airports, and still another parole program that applies to a broad range of migrants who pre-schedule their arrivals at the southern border.
More than 95% of those who apply for parole under the program for Haiti, Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua are approved.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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