Schumer’s bipartisan immigration ‘deal’ is a joke
![Schumer’s bipartisan immigration ‘deal’ is a joke](https://thehill.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/GettyImages-2152301016.jpg?w=900)
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced over the weekend that the Senate would be revisiting the border “deal” that failed miserably back in February. This is a desperate political stunt during an election year.
The border crisis has become the single most unifying issue in American politics. Americans from all backgrounds — white, black, rich, poor, suburban, urban, Democrat and Republican — are horrified at the scenes of thousands of people overrunning the border. In the battleground states of Ohio, Montana, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, all seen as vulnerable Senate seats for Democrats, voters view immigration as a top issue. Democrats are seeing the same polls we are seeing — and they are panicking.
For the past three years, President Joe Biden has overseen an invasion of over 11 million illegal aliens into our country. Many are military-age males about whom we know very little, thanks to the lack of screening and vetting from the Biden administration. What we do know is that, increasingly, they are coming from all over the world — at least 25,000 Chinese nationals have entered our country since October 1, 2023. Just last week, two Jordanian nationals attempted to break into Quantico, a Marine Corps base in Virginia, one of whom is allegedly on the terrorist watch list. These are the types of criminals President Biden is allowing to stream across our borders.
As two Republican senators, we cannot sit idly by while Democrats mislead the American people about what this immigration bill would do. When negotiations for this supposed border compromise began, we were hopeful that Democrats had come to their senses and decided to secure the border. Unfortunately, this rushed “deal” was made behind closed doors without input from most Republicans. Not surprisingly, that bill killed itself in less than 24 hours — with most Republicans and five Democrats eventually voting against it.
Now, in an election year, the Senate majority leader is trying to hide his party’s appalling record on border security behind another vote on a broken bill that still does absolutely nothing to secure the border. In fact, it codifies an open border by allowing up to 5,000 illegal crossings per day before requiring the president to shut down the border. As far as we are concerned, one illegal crossing is too many; 5,000 is simply absurd.
The bill would also codify Biden’s catch-and-release policies, as it actually requires illegal aliens to be released while they are being processed. The American people are just supposed to accept that millions of poorly vetted illegal aliens will continue to move into their communities, taking their jobs, overcrowding their schools and driving up rent prices, but now with the federal government’s explicit imprimatur.
The bill also spends $20 billion that we don’t have, further mortgaging our children’s future. It primarily spends the money, not to secure the border, but to more efficiently process and disperse illegal immigrants throughout America — the vast majority of whom do not have valid asylum claims. It doesn’t spend a nickel to complete the wall.
With this stunt, Democrats hope to hide the fact that President Biden does not need any additional authority to stop the border surge. What we actually need is legislation that would force the president to use the executive authority he has to secure the border — just as President Donald Trump did. This bill would actually weaken presidential authority by specifying that the president only has discretion to secure the border when daily encounters reach 4,000. If this bill became law, any president who attempted to secure the border before that ridiculous threshold is met would surely be hampered by endless court challenges.
Tonight, our Republican colleagues are taking to the Senate floor to force votes on serious legislation that would actually fix the problems at the border. One of the bills we will put forward is the Border Safety and Security Act, which requires the secretary of Homeland Security to completely shut down the border until the federal government has operational control of who is coming into our country. This bill is just one example of the many options Democrats could consider if they were actually serious about securing our border.
Instead, Democrats are using a broken bill to fool voters into thinking they are serious about border security. Don’t buy it. The American people don’t want a messaging exercise — they want to feel safe in their neighborhoods. If Sens. Tester, Brown, Rosen, Casey and Baldwin were listening to the concerns of their constituents, they would ditch Chuck Schumer’s border stunt and vote for our commonsense legislation to actually secure the border and protect American citizens.
Sen. Tommy Tuberville has represented Alabama in the Senate since 2021. Sen. Ron Johnson has represented Wisconsin in the Senate since 2011.
Date: |
Filter
-
Congress can and should reach a bipartisan permitting deal this year
We largely have a bipartisan agreement on substance.The Hill - Politics -
Schumer: McConnell 'should have had the courage not to show up' to Trump meeting
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) expressed disappointment on Thursday that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) attended the meeting with former President Trump at the National Republican Senatorial Committee’s headquarters ...The Hill - Politics - Donald Trump -
Stephen Colbert and Whoopi Goldberg Met the Pope in the Vatican. No Joke.
Francis hosted an audience with over 100 comic entertainers, also including Chris Rock, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Conan O’Brien. He said there was much to learn from them.The New York Times - World -
Schumer calls for bill to ban bump stocks after Supreme Court ruling
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Friday condemned a 6-3 Supreme Court ruling overturning the Trump-era ban on bump stocks, which allow semi-automatic guns to fire like machine guns, and called on Congress to pass legislation to ...The Hill - Politics -
Cardin aims for bipartisan fix to shield Israeli leaders from ICC
The Democratic chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said he wants to work with Republicans to hold back the International Criminal Court (ICC) from issuing arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his defense ...The Hill - Politics - Israel -
When rural communities welcome immigrants, everyone wins
The picture of rural America as a dying wasteland home to a dwindling number of angry white people may appeal to folks who have never been here. But it’s wrong.The Hill - Politics -
Thanks for All the Dad Jokes: Science Says Corny Puns Actually Help Kids Boost Their Emotional Intelligence and Be More Successful
Thanks for all those terrible puns, dad.Inc. - Business -
Rubio says Trump remark on immigrants "poisoning the blood" of U.S. not about race
In a TV interview, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, a potential Trump running mate, defended Trump's comment that immigrants were "poisoning the blood of our country."CBS News - Top stories - Donald Trump -
Biden preparing to offer legal status to certain undocumented immigrants
The program would offer work permits and deportation protections to unauthorized immigrants married to U.S. citizens, as long as they have lived in the U.S. for at least 10 years, sources said.CBS News - Top stories - Joe Biden -
DACA at 12 is on life support and already leaving out many young immigrants
The DACA program is 12 years old on Saturday, but over a decade of Republican lawsuits to end the Obama-era program, which has halted new applications, has shut down the program to a generation of undocumented youth.NBC News - Top stories
More from The Hill
-
Scott says he respects Supreme Court decision to overturn ban on bump stocks
Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) said he respected the Supreme Court's decision last week to overturn a Trump-era prohibition on bump stocks. "The job is simply this, so we trust and believe and respect the decision of the Supreme Court. What we need to ...The Hill - Politics -
Donalds defends decision to host RNC convention in Milwaukee amid Trump comments
Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) doubled down on the Republican National Committee's (RNC) decision to host their national convention in Milwaukee despite former President Trump's recent reported comments on the city. "With respect to Milwaukee, he was ...The Hill - Politics - Donald Trump -
Cotton says he would ‘entertain’ VP if asked, but ‘very happy being a senator’
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) said in a Sunday interview he would “of course, entertain” a hypothetical request to serve as former President Trump’s running mate but said he’s satisfied serving in the Senate for now. “I think if the President asked you ...The Hill - Politics -
Technology is the future, but the Biden administration is afraid
Demonizing the broad spirit of and basis of new technology will not bode well for economic innovation.The Hill - Politics - Joe Biden -
Starship’s live-streamed Test 4 is a giant leap toward our lunar future
For the most part, the fourth test met the objectives for the launch vehicle that promises to take humans back to the moon, on to Mars, and beyond.The Hill - Politics