What does the US Senate’s proposed immigration deal say? Changes in three main areas

(CNN) — The US Senate agreement on border immigration management and foreign aid package, released on Sunday, would establish stricter boundaries along the US southern border that were not previously included in the law and, in effect, would severely restrict asylum in that area. With decades old protocols.

If approved, the bill would radically change immigration law for the first time in decades. The package paves the way for a key vote this week, with legislation at risk of failure and, if passed, triggering a showdown in the House of Representatives. Following the publication of the text, the Speaker of the Lower House, Mike Johnson, declared the agreement “dead on arrival” in that chamber.

It is unlikely that the agreement, even if approved, could be implemented immediately, as it would require enormous resources, including the hiring of additional staff, which would often take months.

The main changes included in this bill are:

1. Changes in the management of border crossings

• New emergency powers to ban illegal border crossings if the daily average of migrants reaches 4,000 over a one-week period. If that number is reached, the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) may decide to largely bar immigrants from seeking asylum if they have crossed the border illegally.
• If undocumented immigrant crossings exceed an average of 5,000 per day in a given week, DHS is required to exercise that authority. If agents’ visits with undocumented immigrants reach 8,500 in a day, DHS is required to activate the authority. But the federal government is limited in how long it can exercise that power.
• In the first year, the government can use it for 270 days; Then, 225 calendar days, in the second year, and 180 days, in the third year. Authorization expires after three years.

2. Changes in Asylum Policy

• It codifies a policy requiring the government to process at least 1,400 asylum applications at ports of entry when emergency authorities are activated.
• It creates a legal barrier to testing to pass the initial asylum exam, potentially making it more difficult for asylum seekers to pass.
• Accelerates asylum processing time from years to six months.
• Introduces a new process in which the US Citizenship and Immigration Services will make decisions on asylum requests without going through the immigration court system. This process does not apply to unaccompanied immigrant minors.

3. Humanitarian permit and changes in the path to citizenship

1. Retains presidential authority to grant humanitarian permits on a case-by-case basis. President Joe Biden has used this authority for Ukrainians, Afghans, Cubans, Venezuelans, and Haitians, among other immigrant groups.
2. It includes limited changes that restrict humanitarian access to land borders.
3. Authorizes 250,000 additional immigrant visas over five years for families and applies to those immigrating based on employment.
4. Provides a path to citizenship for Afghans entering the United States after the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and expands a special immigrant visa program for Afghans who have worked for the US government.