(The Center Square) – U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-New Mexico, voiced approval for a bipartisan border security compromise brewing in the United States Senate. At the same time, U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Lujan, D-New Mexico, has privately voiced opposition to the Senate bill and tried to meet with top-level White House officials during its negotiation process, according to The Associated Press.
The text of the National Security Supplemental, a Senate compromise that would strengthen the country’s immigration and asylum laws, was released on Sunday, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, hopes to hold a vote on it this week.
“While no compromise is ever perfect, I will vote in favor of this bill to improve border security and provide much-needed aid abroad,” Heinrich said in a press release. “If House Republicans are serious about prioritizing people over politics, they’ll join the Senate in taking up this bipartisan agreement.”
The $118 billion bill would reject more asylum cases, send home those who don’t qualify for asylum, and expedite the process for legitimate asylum seekers.
The bill contains a provision that would allow the Department of Homeland Security to shut down the border if too many migrants attempt to cross it. If the border averages 4,000 or more migrant crossings over seven days, DHS could choose to close the border; however, if it exceeds an average of 5,000 per day over seven days — or exceeds 8,500 in a single day — then DHS would be required to shut down the border.
However, under the bill, the border could not be shut down for more than 270 days in the first year, and the president has the authority to suspend the border closure for up to 45 days on an emergency basis.
Even so, during the closures, Border Patrol would have to process at least 1,400 migrants who attempt to legally enter the United States through ports of entry, but it would allow unaccompanied minors to cross between ports of entry. If anyone else tried to cross illegally two or more times during a border emergency, they would be barred from entering the United States for a year.
Additionally, the bill would end catch-and-release. Those who come to the country through legal ports of entry would stay under federal supervision while completing the asylum process rather than being released into the country. It would provide funding for up to 77 repatriation flights per day
Also, it would let children of H-1B visa recipients get work authorization and freeze their legal ages while awaiting a green card rather than facing deportation at 21 years old.
Afghan refugees who entered the country after July 2021 would also get a path to permanent residency under the bill, and it would make changes to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and Customs and Border Patrol in hopes of addressing staffing shortages.
“Our nation’s immigration system is broken, leaving countless families and communities to pay the price for Congressional inaction,” Heinrich said in the release. “With this National Security Supplemental, we begin to change that. Let me be clear, the compromise this bill represents is not perfect. It does not deliver the comprehensive immigration reform we need. It does not ensure DREAMERS a swift path to full citizenship, expand fair pathways for documented immigrants or invest in our border communities at the scale needed.
“But it does make our asylum process faster, delivering safety to those who legitimately need it,” Heinrich added. “And it invests in smart border security that will help cut down on drug and firearm trafficking at our southern border and make our communities safer. Those wins are important. They are critical beginning steps that I am proud to support, even as we must continue the work to reform our immigration system to better reflect our history and values as a country.”
Outside of immigration, the bill includes military aid for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan and humanitarian aid for Palestinian civilians.
“Beyond our borders, this bipartisan legislation will also further strengthen our national security by providing support to our allies in Ukraine, helping to ensure Ukraine wins the war against Putin,” Heinrich said in the release. “And it will deliver support to Israel and innocent civilians in Gaza. While I will continue to push for guardrails on this aid, I will not turn my back on our Democratic allies.”
The U.S. Senate’s Latino Democratic members support reforms that the bill lacks, including a pathway to citizenship for certain illegal immigrants, like “Dreamers,” according to the report. Several attempts to reach Lujan’s office for comment on the bill by The Center Square were unsuccessful.
The bill, as written, is unlikely to become law even in the event it is able to pass a divided Senate, as House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, opposes it.
“If this bill reaches the House, it will be dead on arrival,” Johnson posted on X.
