Democrats and Republicans in the Senate have been negotiating on border security since early November and appear to be on the verge of a historic compromise that would severely restrict asylum claims and give the president the authority to shut down the border if the surge of illegal immigrants becomes too high.
That authority has never been given to a president. It would be a game-changer if used at the border during this surge of migrants. And Biden says he would use that authority immediately.
“What’s been negotiated would — if passed into law — be the toughest and fairest set of reforms to secure the border we’ve ever had in our country,” Biden said in a statement. “It would give me, as President, a new emergency authority to shut down the border when it becomes overwhelmed. And if given that authority, I would use it the day I sign the bill into law.”
Beyond that, the bipartisan deal will restrict the president's authority to grant immigration "parole" to huge numbers of people as Biden has done with Venezuelans and others. The bill would also speed up asylum requests to a matter of months, not years, and carry stricter criteria to be granted asylum. This is expected to cut down on the number of economic immigrants who come here for a better job or better government benefits.
Joe Biden has gone from denying there's a crisis at the border to a promise to close the border the day he signs the bipartisan bill. This is an incredible victory for Republicans. Biden can claim all the credit he wants until the GOP starts running ads showing his previous statements on the "non-crisis" at the border. Only the most disinterested voter thinks that Biden hasn't completely caved to Republicans on the border issue.
The border would be shut down according to a series of "triggers" that would come into play if the surge of migrants at the border threatens to overwhelm the border patrol.
Under the soon-to-be-released package, the Department of Homeland Security would be granted new emergency authority to shut down the border if daily average migrant encounters reach 4,000 over a one-week span. If migrant crossings increase above 5,000 on average per day on a given week, DHS would be required to close the border to migrants crossing illegally not entering at ports of entry. Certain migrants would be allowed to stay if they prove to be fleeing torture or persecution in their countries.
Moreover, if crossings exceed 8,500 in a single day, DHS would be required to close the border to migrants illegally crossing the border. Under the proposal, any migrant who tries to cross the border twice while it is closed would be banned from entering the US for one year.
“This is an opportunity to put laws on the books that someone who is genuinely interested in securing the border will be able to use,” Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said as the Senate adjourned Thursday. “President Donald J. Trump in 2017 asked for laws like this. We’re going to deliver it and if he becomes president, he’ll be glad that we did.”
But Trump, at the moment, is more interested in using the border crisis as a means to smack Biden around for his failures. While it may be a good political strategy — that's open for debate — the crisis at the border is going on now, not next January.
Plus, Democrats have zero incentive to agree to almost all of the concessions they've made on asylum, parole, and the border closures that will soon come before Congress.
But some on the right see the bill's imperfections as a deal-breaker.
“It looks like a bill... that generally baselines this level so much higher than even the Obama administration,” said Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.). “To me, that looks like a Democratic victory. And I think that’s where most of the Republican Party is, I think that’s where Trump is and I think that’s where the House is.”
The problem with that statement is it's difficult to see a Democratic victory when Republicans have forced the Democrats into so many critical, unheard-of concessions. If Braun thinks this is a Democratic victory he hasn't been paying attention.
