Feb 09, 2024 - 17:15
By npr.org

Senate Republicans cast serious doubt on fate of bipartsan immigration deal

A bipartisan plan to address U.S. asylum and border control policy faces major skepticism Monday as at least two dozen Senate Republicans cast serious doubt on the legislation's chances.

Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., one of the negotiators who wrote the bill, told reporters in the Capitol that he does not think a planned Wednesday vote on a motion start debate can be approved.

"We are trying to figure out what to do next," Lankford said. "People are saying hey, we need a lot more time to go through this."

Lankford spoke to reporters after a lengthy closed-door GOP meeting where members vented — sometimes angrily — about the bill.

"I think the proposal is dead," Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., said bluntly.

Lankford would not go that far. He told reporters that it was clear the bill would need to be amended in order to garner more Republican support. But moving any further to the right risks losing enough Democrats to reach the 60-vote threshold.

The newly-released $118 billion national security bill includes roughly $20 billion for border provisions, including $650 million for the border wall and funding for asylum judges, expanded detention capacity and other programs.

The proposal would also raise the threshold to meet asylum claims, mandate a 90-day initial determination of eligibility and require Border Protection agents to turn away all migrants who enter between official ports of entry if the total number of encounters reaches a certain threshold.

The bill is the result of months of negotiations following GOP demands that Democrats link border policy to President Biden's request for military aid to Israel and Ukraine.