Border Deal to Cut Illegal Immigration Is Released After Months of Talks

Senate leaders released Sunday the long-awaited details of a sprawling bipartisan bill designed to both sharply cut down on illegal border crossings and bolster embattled allies Ukraine and Israel, but the bill drew sharp criticism from top House Republicans who said it had no chance of passing their chamber.

The deal, which took months to negotiate and is set to get an initial vote in the Senate as soon as Wednesday, would establish a new asylum process at the border to deliver fast case resolutions and swift deportations for migrants who don’t qualify. It also would set a higher bar for those claims and establish new limits on the number of immigrants claiming asylum to prevent the system from getting overwhelmed.

On the spending side, the bill will provide about $118 billion overall in funds for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan as well as for U.S. border changes and humanitarian aid in war zones. About half—around $60 billion—is related to Ukraine, with $14.1 billion for Israel security assistance and about $20 billion to implement the new border policies.

“I’ve seen enough. This bill is even worse than we expected, and won’t come close to ending the border catastrophe,” said Speaker Mike Johnson (R., La.) on social media. “If this bill reaches the House, it will be dead on arrival,” he said.

President Biden said he strongly supported the 370-page measure, calling the immigration provisions the “toughest and fairest set of border reforms in decades.”

The bill’s first test will come in the Democratic-run Senate this week. While most Democrats in the 51-49 chamber are expected to support the proposal, Senate Republicans have indicated that they would only provide the votes to clear the required 60-vote hurdle to proceed

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