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Post by the Scribe on Jan 27, 2024 5:55:00 GMT
Biden backs Senate border deal, vows to 'shut down the border' when overwhelmed
www.yahoo.com/news/biden-backs-senate-border-deal-001856174.html
Nandita Bose, Ted Hesson and Costas Pitas
Updated Fri, January 26, 2024 at 7:09 PM MST·3 min read
FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Joe Biden visits Charleston
By Nandita Bose, Ted Hesson and Costas Pitas
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Joe Biden said on Friday that the border deal being negotiated in the U.S. Senate was the "toughest and fairest" set of reforms possible and vowed to "shut down the border" the day he signs the bill.
The bipartisan talks have hit a critical point amid mounting Republican opposition. Some Republicans have set a deal on border security as a condition for further Ukraine aid.
Earlier in the day, U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson said the deal is "dead on arrival" in its current form, according to a letter to Republican lawmakers in the House of Representatives reviewed by Reuters.
Biden, a Democrat seeking another term in the Nov. 5 elections, has grappled with record numbers of migrants caught illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border during his presidency. Republicans contend Biden should have kept the restrictive policies of Republican former President Donald Trump, the frontrunner for his party's nomination.
"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," he said.
The White House has agreed to new limits on asylum at the border, including the creation of an expulsion power that would allow migrants who cross the U.S.-Mexico border illegally to be rapidly returned to Mexico if migrant encounters surpassed 4,000 per day, three sources familiar with the matter said.
If encounters passed 5,000 per day, the use of the expulsion authority would become mandatory, according to the sources who requested anonymity to discuss details of the private negotiations.
In December, encounters averaged more than 9,500 per day, according to U.S. government statistics released on Friday.
The sweeping authority would be comparable to the COVID-era Title 42 policy put in place under Trump during the pandemic and which ended under Biden in May 2023.
Migrants trying to claim asylum would still be able to do so at legal border crossings if the expulsion power was in effect, one of the sources said.
The U.S. would be required to allow at least 1,400 migrants per day to approach legal crossings to claim asylum if the expulsions were in effect, the source added.
The bill aims to resolve asylum claims in six months without detaining migrants, the source said, faster than the current process, which can take years.
Trump, however, took to social media last week to warn against any deal that fails to deliver everything Republicans want to shut down border crossings.
Biden also urged Congress on Friday to provide the funding he asked for in October to secure the border.
"This includes an additional 1,300 border patrol agents, 375 immigration judges, 1,600 asylum officers, and over 100 cutting-edge inspection machines to help detect and stop fentanyl at our southwest border," the president said.
(Reporting by Nandita Bose, Ted Hesson, Costas Pitas and Ismail Shakil; Editing by Edwina Gibbs) |
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Post by the Scribe on Jan 27, 2024 5:55:20 GMT
Things are only going to get worse as the non existent climate change (according to republiconservatives) causes drought, famine, new diseases, etc. where people go fleeing to the North to a country devoid of criminal cartels, extreme gang rule, etc. And that country is the USA and Canada if they can get there. Demographically the U.S. birth rate has fallen precipitously since the 2007 Great Republican caused Recession, with no signs of reversing. In fact, 20% lower. We need to assimilate migrants to keep our way of life in the LONG RUN but the problem comes with so many coming here in the SHORT RUN. Republiconservatives have put the kibosh on changes to reasonable immigration laws for decades. Until they are serious about immigration in that party and congress don't expect too much. Obama deported MORE people than Trump despite conservative media propaganda. Obama even had a good bi partisan immigration plan ready to go but MOSCOW MITCH and the GOP STOPPED ITS IMPLEMENTATION. Find out who is pulling the strings behind Republican politicians and go after them to get those changes made and stop with the wedge issue conservative STINK TANK talking points that only deflect and divide on the real issue here.
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Post by the Scribe on Jan 27, 2024 8:08:50 GMT
Obama had a great plan too but Moscow Mitch sabotaged it. Republiconservatives don't want a solution. It is one of those wedge issues they need to keep their base angry and voting. And their elite corporate overclass likes the cheap labor.Key senators cut deal to give US new power to clamp down on border crossings
www.yahoo.com/news/key-senators-cut-deal-shut-225936676.html
Manu Raju, CNN
Fri, January 26, 2024 at 7:29 PM MST·3 min read
Senate negotiators have agreed to empower the US to significantly restrict illegal migrant crossings at the southern border, according to sources familiar with the matter, a move aimed at ending the migrant surge that has overrun federal authorities over the past several months.
The Senate deal, which is expected to be unveiled as soon as next week, would also speed up the asylum process to consider cases within six months – compared with the current system, under which it could take up to 10 years for asylum seekers.
The details provide a new window into high-profile negotiations that have been going on for months – as Senate leaders hold out hope they can attach the deal to aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan as domestic and international crises loom. The plan would also put pressure on Republicans to decide whether to greenlight these new authorities or reject the plan as former President Donald Trump has urged the GOP to defeat anything short of what he calls a “perfect” bill.
President Joe Biden, in a rare statement on ongoing congressional negotiations, said the deal that Senate negotiators have worked toward is both tough and fair.
“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,” he said in the statement Friday. “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.”
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.
The goal of the trio of negotiators – GOP Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma, Independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut – is to prevent surges that overwhelm federal authorities. The Biden administration and Senate leaders have been heavily involved in the talks, and more details of the deal are expected to be released in the coming days.
In December alone, there were over 300,000 migrant encounters. The source said if the new legislation were in effect, the border would be shut down now to illegal migrants. Another source familiar with the matter said that certain migrants would be allowed to stay if they show they are fleeing persecution — and that there would still be a minimum of 1,400 asylum applications that could be processed though legal ports of entry while the emergency authorities are in effect.
But the push to release a deal comes as Trump has rallied Republicans to reject any immigration compromise as he campaigns against Biden’s handling of the border. But a number of top Senate Republicans, including Mitch McConnell, say that the issue must be dealt with now since Democrats are willing to approve tougher restrictions.
This headline and story have been updated with additional reporting.
CNN’s Betsy Klein contributed to this report.
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