Immigrants wait in line outside the immigration court at Federal Plaza in New York, U.S., November 2, 2023. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/File Photo Acquire license rights
WASHINGTON, Dec 7 (Reuters) – The Biden administration plans to support new restrictions on who can seek asylum and an expanded deportation process to secure new aid to Ukraine and Israel under an additional funding bill, a source familiar with the discussions said.
The White House and the US Congress are working to reach a deal that would provide military aid to the two allied countries while discouraging illegal immigration across the US-Mexico border, just a week before lawmakers leave for the holiday break. Christmas.
Republicans have refused to approve more funding for Ukraine without additional measures to reduce the record number of migrants attempting to cross the U.S. border illegally, leading to complex negotiations involving largely unrelated issues.
President Joe Biden, a Democrat seeking re-election in 2024, said Wednesday he would be willing to make significant concessions on border security as a Republican senator. rejected a Democratic aid package with $20 billion in border funding.
The White House would be willing to strengthen standards for initial vetting of asylum applications, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters, requesting anonymity to discuss negotiations.
The Biden administration would also consider some form of “safe third country” provision that would deny asylum to migrants who pass through another country on their way to the United States, the source said.
Another possible point of agreement could be the expansion of an expedited deportation process known as “expedited removal.” The authority would be applied nationally instead of its current application at the border, the source said.
A bipartisan group of senators trying to reach a deal is also discussing a numerical limit on asylum applications, the source said. The Biden administration’s position on such a cap remains unclear.
White House spokesman Angelo Fernandez Hernandez said Biden had made it clear that “the border is broken” and that Congress should take action to fix it.
“The president has said he is open to compromise,” he said in a statement.
The Republican-led House of Representatives is expected to finish its work for the year by Dec. 14, leaving a narrow window to pass legislation. The Democratic-led Senate faces a similar timetable.
With that in mind, the goal instead appears to be to reach a top-level deal and perhaps work on the exact details of the legislative text during the recess, sources said.
Democratic Sen. Chris Coons said Thursday that the gap between his party and Republicans remains “stubbornly large” but he remained optimistic about their ability to find common ground.
White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre criticized Republicans during a press briefing Thursday.
“They are playing chicken with our national security,” she said. “History will remember it harshly.”
Republican Sen. Thom Tillis, a member of the bipartisan group trying to find a compromise on border security, told reporters Wednesday that any proposal would have to cut illegal immigration by at least half and that he did not know if a deal could be concluded before Christmas. .
“We still have a lot of work to do,” he said.
Ted Hesson reports from Washington; Additional reporting by Richard Cowan in Washington; Editing by Heather Timmons and Daniel Wallis
Our standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
