Immigration proposal unveiled in Senate: It considers ‘closing’ the border in certain cases and tightening asylum

The project proposes two major changes to immigration law: limiting the use of parole by migrants arriving at the border and allowing the president to ‘shut it down’ in certain cases when the flow of migrants is strong.

And it has the “strong support” of President Joe Biden, who urged approval this Sunday of what he described as a plan that “includes the toughest and fairest border reforms in decades.”

Amidst the anticipation, Independent Senator Kirsten Sinema of Arizona previously announced that the project would be included in the program. face the nation, Especially detailing potential immigration changes. He spoke about ending the practice known in English as ‘catch and release’, which allows federal authorities to parole migrants requesting asylum at the border and send their cases to immigration court so a judge can decide their fate in the United States.

“We’ve seen images on television of what’s happening in Lukeville, Arizona, and in South Texas, where large numbers of migrants have arrived at the border and are being processed and in some ways released into the country, some with summonses. They’re five, seven, May see a judge in 10 years (…) Our (proposed) law puts an end to that and the practice of ‘catch and release’,” said Sinema, who was involved. Negotiations on this matter.

According to what Sinema explained, when a migrant arrives at the border to seek asylum they will face two situations if they are successful as the bill was drafted in the Senate and the House of Representatives.

They will be taken into custody and interviewed to determine if they meet asylum requirements. If they do not comply, they will be returned to their countries, he added.

“For those that we cannot detain, such as families, we will ensure that we only monitor them during the three months and interview them to new, more stringent standards, which will require them to show earlier whether they are eligible for asylum or not. . . ” he added.

“When so many people come to the border, asking to come and seek asylum, we now demand (with the bill) that the government ‘closes’ the border if the number reaches 5,000 in a day,” Sinema said earlier.

“But we (within the bill) allow the government to ‘close’ the border when (that number) just gets to 4,000 a day. And the reason we do that is because we want to have the ability to ‘close’ the system when it’s saturated. done,” he added.

If the project is approved in Congress, some people will be able to request asylum at ports of entry on those occasions.

This highly anticipated Senate proposal is President Biden’s best chance to provide more aid to Ukraine, a key foreign policy objective shared by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and his Republican counterpart, Mitch McConnell. The Senate is expected to hold a ‘test vote’ this week, possibly on Wednesday, but the initiative has already run into opposition from conservatives.

And, a day earlier, Johnson, the Republican leader in the lower house, said the body would not quickly see the initiative and would focus on a bill that would only consider aid to Israel amid its war with the group. Hamas terrorists in Gaza.

The bill includes the hiring of thousands of new officers to evaluate asylum claims, as well as hundreds of Border Patrol agents. The money is also for shelters and services in cities across the United States that have struggled to cope with the influx of immigrants in recent months.

Senators finalized the border proposal on Friday, but negotiations on other parts of the package, such as aid to US allies, investment in defense manufacturing capacity and humanitarian aid for those trapped in the Gaza conflict and Ukraine, continued into Sunday.

In an effort to overcome opposition from House Republicans, McConnell insisted last year that border policy changes be included in the national security funding package.

However, in an electoral shift on immigration, Biden and many Democrats have embraced the idea of ​​stricter enforcement at the border, while Donald Trump and his allies have criticized the proposed measures as insufficient.

Biden said last week that if he had the power, he would use it to “close the border” as soon as it became law. While his opponents have argued that the president already has enough power to stop illegal border crossings, a stance that will ensure immigration remains a key issue in presidential elections.

This note contains AP information.