The border deal and foreign aid package presented by the Senate on Sunday introduces stringent limits along the US southern border, marking a departure from established protocols and potentially leading to a significant reduction in asylum opportunities.
This proposed legislation, if approved, would bring about substantial changes to immigration law, a departure from the status quo lasting for decades.
The upcoming crucial vote in the Senate, scheduled for this week, carries the risk of the bill failing.
In the event of its passage, it would set the stage for a contentious clash with the House. Speaker Mike Johnson, upon reviewing the text, dismissed the deal as “dead on arrival” in the House, indicating a challenging path for the legislation.
Even if the deal is approved, its immediate implementation is unlikely due to the substantial resources required, such as the hiring of additional personnel, a process that typically spans months.
Border Deal and Foreign Aid Package
The bill encompasses several notable changes, including:
- Emergency Authority Restrictions: The bill grants new emergency authority to restrict border crossings, triggered if the daily average of migrant encounters reaches 4,000 over a one-week period. If this threshold is met, the Homeland Security secretary has the discretion to largely prohibit migrants who crossed the border unlawfully from seeking asylum.
- Usage Limits and Sunset Provision: If migrant crossings exceed an average of 5,000 per day during a given week or reach 8,500 in one day, the DHS is mandated to employ the authority. However, the federal government faces limitations on its duration, allowing usage for 270 days in the first year, followed by 225 calendar days in the second year and 180 days in the third year, with the authority sunsetting thereafter.
- Asylum Processing Requirements: The bill codifies a policy mandating the government to process a minimum of 1,400 asylum applications at ports of entry when the emergency authority is activated.
- Higher Proof Standard: It raises the legal standard of proof required to pass the initial asylum screening, potentially increasing the difficulty for asylum seekers to qualify.
- Expedited Processing: The bill accelerates the asylum processing timeline from years to six months.
- Alternative Asylum Decision Process: Introduces a new process where the US Citizenship and Immigration Services would decide asylum claims without going through the immigration court system, excluding unaccompanied migrant children.
- Preservation of Humanitarian Parole Authority: Maintains the president’s authority to designate humanitarian parole on a case-by-case basis. This authority, previously used for Ukrainians, Afghans, Cubans, Venezuelans, Haitians, and other populations, is upheld.
- Limited Changes to Parole at Land Borders: Includes restricted alterations narrowing the use of parole at land borders.
- Additional Immigrant Visas: Authorizes 250,000 additional immigrant visas spread over five years, applicable to families and employment-based immigrants.
- Pathway to Citizenship: Provides a pathway to citizenship for Afghans paroled into the United States following the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and extends the special immigrant visa program for Afghans who worked for the US government.
