The much-awaited $118 billion bipartisan border security bill, also containing provisions for providing aid to Israel, Ukraine, and other allies was unveiled in the US Senate on Sunday. Yet, the major challenge it faces is the regressive opposition from the Republicans. House Speaker and Republican, Mike Johnson already voiced his opposition regarding the bill, declaring the proposal to be “dead on arrival” in the chamber. Amid fears of opposition, the Senate is expected to vote on the bill on Wednesday.
The legislation introduced in the US Senate aims to secure the Southern US border, additionally giving power to the Department of Homeland Security to close the border if an average of 5000 migrants cross the border per day for seven consecutive days. Furthermore, the bill mentions providing $60.06 billion to support Ukraine’s fight against Russia’s invasion, and $14.1 billion in security assistance for Israel. While the bill provides $2.44 billion to the US Central Command to assist its battle against Iran-backed Houthi militants in the Red Sea, the bill recommends an aid of $4.83 billion for US allies in the Indo-Pacific region facing China’s aggression. An additional $10 billion would provide humanitarian assistance for civilians in Gaza, the West Bank, and Ukraine.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer stated that he would take necessary steps to hold an initial vote on the bill on Wednesday. He added that the priorities in the bill are “too important to ignore and too vital to allow politics to get in the way”.
Last year in October, President Joe Biden urged Congress to pass the measure providing funds to Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan, among other allies. However, the concern was stalled by the House Republicans who insisted that funding measures would only be agreed upon if there was a shift to immigration policy.
Though assisting Israel and Ukraine, along with other US allies is Biden’s priority, he needs to pay heed to bring a robust immigration policy as that is the second-biggest concern for Americans. Even for Republican front-runner Donald Trump, the border security matter is his top-most priority. In the fiscal year 2023, the US Border Patrol arrested about 2 million migrants at the border.
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