He “transformative change” What Republicans expect at the country’s southern border could begin to be implemented in January, when the Capitol resumes its parliamentary activities, if White House staff and senators manage to advance the drafting new border legislation -as promised- during the recess days.
Although the negotiations were extended until December 20, in part due to the late participation of the White House, the senators failed to reach an agreement with the Joe Biden administration, postponing the approval of aid for the war in Ukraine. , whose resources are already hanging by a thread, for the new year.
New agreement?
Senior officials from President Joe Biden’s administration travel to Mexico next Wednesday, in an attempt to seek new measures to stop excessive irregular immigration.
Meanwhile, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) warned migrants that there will be consequences if they enter the United States illegally. “You may be returned to your country of origin if it is quickly determined that you do not meet the requirements for asylum,” the agency said.
Meanwhile, a caravan with thousands of migrants advanced on Christmas Day on foot along the roads of southern Mexico with the aspiration that the Mexican authorities would allow them to reach the border with the United States. The group made up of about 6,000 people are of different nationalities, but the majority come from Central America, Venezuela and Cuba.
Financing contingent on migration
While the crisis on the border worsens with the daily entry of more than 10,000 people, according to data from the United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and given the rumors of closure, the fear of being Due to the elements and the desire to achieve the long-awaited American dream, migrants venture to cross into United States territory in record time.
“From South Texas to Southeast Asia and from the Black Sea to the Red Sea, it is a historically challenging and momentous moment to protect the interests of the United States, our allies and our own people,” said the Republican senator, Mitch McConnellduring his end-of-year speech.
The Republican leader, who has been a key supporter of aid to Ukraine and has tried for months to get his party’s support to approve the resources they require to confront the Russian invasion, has made it clear to senior U.S. officials since October the White House any funding is contingent on changes in border policy.
Biden is accused by Republicans and members of his own party, the Democrats, of maintaining an open border policy, which represents a threat to the security of the United States.
An unprecedented crisis
The United States closed fiscal year 2023 with an unprecedented immigration crisis, after having received the exorbitant number of more than 3.2 million immigrants, according to CBP data. This is a number that has only increased, with the entry of 617,865 foreigners during the months of October and Novemberwhich represents an average of more than 10,200 daily admissions.
The lack of efficient action in the face of overwhelming crisis that is experienced on the southern border has been harshly criticized by both Democrats and Republicans, who are increasingly concerned about this critical reality that, they say, puts national security at risk.
Humanitarian words
So far, the Biden administration has implemented a series of programs that aim to manage orderly migration, mainly for those citizens who come from Central America, Colombia, Cuba and Venezuela.
Among them are humanitarian parole, the family reunification program, the CBP One application and the opening of offices in Colombia, Costa Rica and Guatemala. However, None of these government programs have given the expected results. and, on the contrary, Republicans consider that the government “encourages” illegal migration by extending work permits to thousands of undocumented immigrants.
The Humanitarian Parole case is being debated in the courts, 20 Republican states have filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration’s measures.
Reform of the asylum system
Now, Senate negotiators are keeping humanitarian aid to Ukraine in suspense in exchange for strengthen existing immigration measuresfocused primarily on the asylum system, border security and deportations of illegal immigrants.
A reform of the asylum system has been one of the first Republican demands, since they assure that many foreigners “abuse” it by requesting asylum to access the ““automatic legal protection” that the State admits, even when there are no real causes to request it.
Senators are trying to ensure that immigrants who have a credible claim to asylum can safely access it, but they are advocating for Immigration officials can quickly reject those who do not qualify.
Many of these people, some critics claim, fail in their efforts to obtain asylum, but, due to the delay that exists in the immigration courts, by the time they receive the final decision, they have spent years in the country, making it more difficult and expensive to deport them.
Currently, the Asylum application cases stuck in Immigration Court have reached an exorbitant figure of 3,075,248 as of November 2023Florida being the state with the most delays, with more than 454,434 cases.
Southern Border Security
Initially, the Biden administration asked Congress for a additional fund of 13.6 billion dollars to reinforce security on the southern border, however, Republicans consider this amount insufficient to implement the transformative changes required in the area.
According to the Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, these funds will allow 1,300 additional officials and investigators to be sent to ports of entry to control the migratory wave and stop the flow of lethal fentanyl.
In addition, they plan to hire 1,400 lawyers and support staff for immigration cases, and 2,700 asylum officials.
So, although a consensus has not yet been reached on this point, it is certain that billions of dollars to strengthen security on the border will be part of this agreement.
Limit the number of crossings and accelerate deportations
Republicans and Democrats are also discussing the adoption of a possible compromise that would set a limit for the number of border crossingsafter which stricter measures would be applied, allowing for the rapid expulsions of migrants who enter the United States illegally.
Biden would accept, in principle, limit asylum grants to 5,000 per day, when the current daily income doubles this figure. If this consensus is achieved, the detention of some migrants would also be allowed while they are screened for asylum claims that are considered valid, in accordance with the credible fear policy, so that those who do not pass the test will be immediately returned.
In addition, senators are studying the possibility of equipping asylum seekers with a GPS, like those used in house arrests.
Republicans are also calling on the Biden administration to significantly reduce the number of humanitarian visas that it grants, with which it has favored Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans, mainly. And they propose the accelerated deportation of those who have been in the country for less than two years and they have not requested asylum, regardless of where they are in the United States.
However, we will have to wait until January the 8thwhen the sessions in Congress resume, to find out the scope of the agreement that the senators reach with the White House in exchange for unblocking the stalled aid to Ukraine.
@ebritop22
Source: With information from El País USA / AP / AFP / NBC Washington / NY1 / CBP / TRAC Immigration
