U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson led about 60 fellow Republicans in Congress on a visit Wednesday to the Mexican border to demand hard-line immigration policies in exchange for backing President Joe Biden’s emergency wartime funding request for Ukraine. He expressed serious doubts about whether he would support a bipartisan compromise. The trip to Eagle Pass, Texas, came as the Senate engages in delicate negotiations in hopes of striking a deal.
Quick Read
- House Republicans’ Visit to Mexican Border: Led by U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, about 60 Republicans visited the Mexican border in Eagle Pass, Texas, to push for stricter immigration policies in exchange for supporting President Joe Biden’s funding request for Ukraine.
- Demand for Tough Immigration Policies: The visit highlights the GOP’s demand for hard-line immigration measures, including building more of the border wall and imposing new restrictions on asylum seekers, as conditions for backing Biden’s emergency wartime funding.
- Senate Negotiations on Immigration and Ukraine Aid: In Washington, Senate negotiations are ongoing, with the goal of reaching a bipartisan agreement that could unlock GOP support for Biden’s $110 billion package for Ukraine and other U.S. security priorities.
- Political Stance of Mike Johnson: Johnson, a Republican, expressed skepticism about supporting a bipartisan compromise, emphasizing a focus on border security and potential use of a government funding deadline as leverage.
- Biden’s Willingness for Compromise: President Biden has shown openness to policy compromises amid the significant challenge of managing the historic number of migrants crossing the border.
- Criticism of Johnson’s Border Trip: Administration officials criticized the trip as a political tactic, stressing the need for legislative reform to address immigration system issues.
- Impeachment Proceedings Against Mayorkas: House Republicans are advancing impeachment proceedings against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas over his handling of border management.
- Swamped Border Resources: The number of migrants crossing in locations like Eagle Pass overwhelmed Customs and Border Protection officials, leading to temporary closures of crossings.
- Bipartisan Agreement on Border Fixes: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer acknowledged the bipartisan consensus on the need to address border issues, emphasizing compromise in negotiations.
- Republican Pressure on Biden: Republicans see the migrant crisis as a political vulnerability for Biden, with Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell urging Biden to take credit for measurable border improvements.
- Focus of Senate Negotiations: Senate talks are centered on stricter asylum protocols, enhanced border enforcement, and measures for managing excessive migrant crossings.
- Impact on Ukraine Support: Prolonged negotiations over immigration policies are affecting U.S. support for Ukraine, with the Pentagon announcing a potential final aid package for Ukraine contingent on Congressional approval.
- Concern for Ukraine’s Crisis: Senator Chris Murphy expressed concern that tying Ukraine funding to border issues exacerbates the crisis in Ukraine, especially in light of Russia’s intensified attacks.
The Associated Press has the story:
Speaker Johnson demands hard-line policies during a border visit
Newsslooks- EAGLE PASS, Texas (AP)
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson led about 60 fellow Republicans in Congress on a visit Wednesday to the Mexican border to demand hard-line immigration policies in exchange for backing President Joe Biden’s emergency wartime funding request for Ukraine. He expressed serious doubts about whether he would support a bipartisan compromise.
The trip to Eagle Pass, Texas, came as the Senate engages in delicate negotiations in hopes of striking a deal.
With the number of illegal crossings into the United States topping 10,000 on several days last month, the border city has been at the center of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s Operation Lone Star, his nearly $10 billion initiative that has tested the federal government’s authority over immigration and elevated the political fight over the issue.
An agreement in the lengthy talks in Washington could unlock Senate GOP support for Biden’s $110 billion package for Ukraine, Israel and other U.S. security priorities. In meetings, Sens. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz, James Lankford, R-Okla., and Chris Murphy, D-Conn., are trying to make progress before Congress returns to Washington next week.
But Johnson, R-La., told The Associated Press during the border tour that he was holding firmly to the policies of a bill passed by House Republicans in May without a single Democratic vote. It would build more of the border wall and impose new restrictions on asylum seekers. Democrats called the legislation “cruel” and “anti-immigrant,” and Biden promised a veto.
“If it looks like H.R. 2, we’ll talk about it,” Johnson said of any border legislation that emerges from the Senate.
At a news conference, Johnson also suggested he could use a looming government funding deadline as further leverage.
“If President Biden wants a supplemental spending bill focused on national security, it better begin with defending America’s national security,” he said. Johnson added: “We want to get the border closed and secured first.”
Biden has expressed willingness to make policy compromises as the historic number of migrants crossing the border is an increasing challenge for his 2024 reelection campaign. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and White House staff have been involved in the Senate negotiations.
“We’ve got to do something,” Biden told reporters Tuesday night. He said Congress should approve his national security proposal because it also includes money for managing the influx of migrants. “They ought to give me the money I need to protect the border,” he said.
Administration officials have criticized Johnson’s trip as a political ploy that will do little to solve the problem.
“When they’re at the border, they’re going to see the magnitude of the problem and why we have said now for about three decades, their broken immigration system is in desperate need of legislative reform,” Mayorkas told CNN on Wednesday. “So we are focused on the solutions, and we hope that they will return to Washington and focus on the solutions as well.”
House Republicans contend that Mayorkas’ management of the border has amounted to a dereliction of his duties and they are moving ahead with rare impeachment proceedings against a Cabinet member, with a first committee hearing on the matter scheduled for next week. Mayorkas told MSNBC he would cooperate with an inquiry.
During parts of December, border crossings in Eagle Pass, as well as other locations, swamped the resources of Customs and Border Protection officials. Authorities closed cargo rail crossings in Eagle Pass and El Paso for five days and shut down border crossings in the Arizona city of Lukeville.
Authorities say the numbers of migrants eased over the December holidays as part of a seasonal pattern. The border crossings are reopening, and arrests for illegal crossings from Mexico fell to about 2,500 on Monday, from more than 10,000 on several days in December, officials said.
“We need to fix the border. There’s virtually unanimous agreement among Democrats and Republicans about that,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday. He added: “Everyone’s going to have to give something to get this done.”
Republicans are pressuring Biden and Democrats to accept strict border measures and they see the high number of migrants arriving at the border as a political weakness for the president.
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell told reporters in Kentucky on Tuesday that in a conversation with 81-year-old Biden, he made the case: “You can’t do anything about how old you are, you can’t do anything about inflation, but this is something that’s measurable that you could claim credit for.”
McConnell also said he was approaching the talks with “optimism that somehow we will get this all together and we’re giving it our best shot.”
Senate negotiators have focused on tougher asylum protocols for migrants arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border, bolstering border enforcement with more personnel and high-tech systems, and enforcement measures that would kick in if the number of daily crossings passed a certain threshold.
Murphy, the chief Democratic negotiator, said Tuesday that he hoped that “at some point, Republicans can take the offer that we’ve all been working on together in the room for a long time.”
He raised concern that the longer the talks draw out, the longer it leaves Ukraine’s defenses hanging without assured support from the U.S. in the war with Russia.
The Pentagon in late December announced what officials say could be the final package of military aid for Ukraine if Congress does not approve Biden’s funding request. The weapons, worth up to $250 million, include air munitions and other missiles, artillery, anti-armor systems, ammunition, demolition and medical equipment and parts.
Russia has unleashed a flurry of missile and drone strikes on Ukraine in the new year.
“The consequence of Republicans’ decision to tie Ukraine funding to border is that the Ukrainians are already at a moment of real crisis,” Murphy said.
