两党参议员小组发布了一份提案的文本该法案将把数十亿美元的新外国援助与美国移民体系多年来的首次重大改革联系在一起。
俄克拉荷马州参议员詹姆斯·兰克福德、康涅狄格州参议员克里斯·墨菲和亚利桑那州参议员凯尔斯滕·西内马，敲定了一项协议这将加强边境安全和移民执法，同时授权向以色列、台湾和乌克兰提供更多援助。
参议院拨款委员会主席、参议员帕蒂·默里(D-Wash。)，周日晚上发布了1182.8亿美元的两党国家安全补充一揽子计划的文本。
这笔资金中包括600.6亿美元用于支持乌克兰对抗俄罗斯，以及141亿美元用于以色列的安全援助。该计划还包括向加沙、约旦河西岸、乌克兰和其他冲突地区的平民提供100亿美元的人道主义援助。48.3亿美元将支持印太地区伙伴，并“阻止中国政府的侵略”。
它还包括边境政策的变化，203亿美元用于现有的边境业务需求，并推出了《消除芬太尼和遏制芬太尼毒品法》。
这项协议是经过四个月有时紧张的谈判才达成的，对于国会中推动在南部边境实施更严格监管的强硬派来说，可能还不够。
“细节决定成败。我们会去看看的。我没有预先判断任何事情，”众议院议长·迈克·约翰逊周五表示。他此前称，如果最终文本与媒体所描述的一致，该协议将“一落地就夭折”。
共和党的怀疑态度意味着该法案在参众两院通过时将面临严重障碍。
消息人士此前告诉ABC新闻，如果移民过境人数在任何一周内增加到每天5000人以上，或者如果平均每天遇到的人数在一周内达到每天4000人的门槛，该协议将要求国土安全部几乎关闭边境。
这引发了共和党对该法案的攻击，该提案的关键谈判代表兰克福德在法案发布前曾努力予以反驳。
“他们仍在等待能够阅读这方面的法案。这一直是我们最大的挑战，我们要能够坚持到最后，要能够让人们听到法案文本。”他上个月在福克斯新闻频道上说。“现在，人们都在网上散布谣言。如果我同意每天接待5000人，那绝对是荒谬的。该法案的重点是让我们每天的非法越境率为零。没有特赦。”
预计参议院将在本周晚些时候开始推进这项立法。支持者将需要60名参议员在周三的程序性投票中支持该法案，但尚不清楚是否会有必要数量的共和党人。
美国总统乔·拜登(Joe Biden)对该协议的消息做出了回应，他在一份声明中表示:“几十年来，移民体系已经崩溃了太久。是时候修复了。这就是为什么两个多月前我指示我的政府成员与一个两党参议员小组合作，最终认真解决这个问题。这就是他们所做的——在假期和周末夜以继日地工作。现在，我们就两党国家安全协议达成了协议，其中包括几十年来最严厉和最公平的边境改革。我强烈支持。”
秘书美国国土安全部部长亚历杭德罗·马约卡斯也发表声明支持参议院的两党法案。
他的声明写道:“参议院两党达成的协议是强硬的、公平的，并采取了有意义的步骤来应对我们国家在国会几十年无所作为后面临的挑战。”
“这将使DHS能够更快地驱逐那些没有法律依据留在美国的人，将时间从几年缩短到几个月。这将加快对那些有合法诉求的人的保护和工作授权。它将提供灵活性，以应对边境不断变化的动态，包括在遭遇率极高时暂时禁止某些个人入境。它还提供了急需的资源，以支持和扩大数十年来长期资金不足的DHS劳动力，并进一步投资于技术，以帮助防止芬太尼在入境口岸进入我们的国家，”他的声明继续说。
Senators unveil $118.28 billion bipartisan bill to overhaul immigration system along with Israel, Ukraine aid
A bipartisan group of senatorshas released the text of a proposalof a bill that would tie billions of dollars in new foreign aid to the first major overhaul of the country's immigration system in years.
Sens. James Lankford, R-Okla., Chris Murphy, D-Conn., and Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz.,hammered out an agreementthat would beef up border security and immigration enforcement while authorizing more assistance to Israel, Taiwan and Ukraine.
Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), released the text of the $118.28 billion bipartisan national security supplemental package on Sunday night.
Included in the funding is $60.06 billion to support Ukraine in its fight against Russia and $14.1 billion in security assistance for Israel. It also includes $10 billion in humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza, the West Bank, Ukraine and other people in conflict zones. $4.83 billion will support Indo-Pacific regional partners and "deter aggression by the Chinese government."
It also includes border policy changes, $20.3 billion for existing operational border needs, and the introduction of the Fentanyl Eradication and Narcotics Deterrence Off Fentanyl Act.
The deal, only reached after four months of sometimes tense negotiations, may not be enough for hard-liners in Congress pushing for stricter regulations at the southern border.
"The devil is in the details. We'll check it out. I'm not prejudging anything," House Speaker Mike Johnson said on Friday. He previously called the deal "dead on arrival" if the final text was what had already been described in the press.
That Republican skepticism means the bill will face serious hurdles in passing both chambers of Congress.
Sources previously told ABC News that the deal would require the Department of Homeland Security to nearly shut down the border if migrant crossings increase above 5,000 per day on any given week or if average daily encounters reach a 4,000-a-day threshold in a one-week span.
That set off Republican attacks over the legislation -- which Lankford, his party's key negotiator on the proposal, worked to refute in the leadup to its release.
"They're still waiting to be able to read the bill on this. And this has been our great challenge of being able to fight through the final words, to be able to get the bill text out so people can hear it," he said on Fox News last month. "Right now, there's internet rumors is all that people are running on. It would be absolutely absurd for me to agree to 5,000 people a day. This bill focuses on getting us to zero illegal crossings a day. There's no amnesty."
The Senate is expected to begin moving forward with the legislation later this week. Supporters will need 60 senators to back the bill during a Wednesday procedural vote, though it’s not yet clear whether there will be the requisite number of Republicans.
President Joe Biden reacted to news of the deal, by saying in a statement: "For too long, going back decades, the immigration system has been broken. It’s time to fix it. That’s why over two months ago I instructed members of my administration to work with a bipartisan group of Senators to – finally – seriously address the issue. And, that’s what they’ve done – working around the clock, through the holidays and over weekends. Now we’ve reached an agreement on a bipartisan national security deal that includes the toughest and fairest set of border reforms in decades. I strongly support it."
Sec. of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas also released a statement in support of the bipartisan Senate bill.
"The bipartisan agreement in the Senate is tough, fair, and takes meaningful steps to address the challenges our country faces after decades of Congressional inaction," his statement read.
"It would allow DHS to remove more quickly those who do not establish a legal basis to remain in the United States, reducing the time from years to months. It would expedite protection and work authorization for those with legitimate claims. It would provide flexibility to respond to changing dynamics at the border, including temporarily prohibiting border entries for certain individuals when encounters are extremely high. It also delivers much-needed resources to support and expand the DHS workforce after decades of chronic underfunding, and it further invests in technology to help prevent fentanyl from entering our country at ports of entry," his statement continued.
