Staff Reports
Conservative Republicans are not happy with the small bipartisan group of senators who have reportedly reached a deal on new authorities for the executive branch to address the illegal immigration crisis at the southern border. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has warned that the deal, based on leaked details, would be “dead on arrival” in the House. Republican critics argue that President Joe Biden already has enough authority to address the illegal migration catastrophe and that the border security proposal doesn’t go far enough. And let’s not forget that this deal is tied to more defense aid for Ukraine, which conservatives are not happy about.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, always in a rush to push through his agenda, plans to fast-track the voting procedures for the deal. But Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) is having none of it. He wrote in an op-ed for The Federalist that the bill should not be passed until they have had adequate time to read it, discuss it with constituents, debate it, offer amendments, and vote on those amendments. Well said, Sen. Lee. There’s no universe in which these things will happen by next week, but Schumer doesn’t seem to care.
But even if Schumer succeeds in pushing this deal through the Senate, it’s likely to be dead in the water when it reaches the House. Speaker Johnson has made it clear that the deal won’t fly in the House, especially if it includes some of the provisions mentioned in leaked media reports. House Republicans will vigorously oppose any policy proposal that would incentivize illegal aliens to break our laws. Bravo, Speaker Johnson, for standing up for what is right.
One major sticking point for Republicans is that this deal would only authorize a temporary shutdown of the border if illegal crossings reach a certain threshold. But let’s be real, even if they shut down the border temporarily, we’re still looking at potentially allowing anywhere from 1.8 to 3 million illegal migrants entry annually. That’s unacceptable.
While there are some provisions in the proposal that could be seen as good, such as limitations on President Biden’s parole authority and the asylum process, conservatives are not convinced that this is enough to address the crisis at the border. And it’s not just House Republicans who are unhappy with this deal. House Hispanic Caucus members and House progressives are complaining that the deal is too strict and that they were left out of the negotiating process. It seems like nobody is happy with this deal, except maybe the senators who crafted it.
In the end, this deal is another example of politicians trying to appease everyone and ending up satisfying no one. It’s time for real solutions to the illegal immigration crisis, not half-hearted compromises that only further incentivize illegal aliens to break our laws. The American people deserve better. And they deserve elected officials who will stand up for the rule of law and secure our borders.
