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Senate negotiators have agreed to give the U.S. the power to significantly restrict the entry of illegal immigrants at its southern border, a move that has overwhelmed federal authorities over the past few months, sources said. The aim is to put an end to the rapid increase in immigration.
President Joe Biden has vowed to take far tougher measures than previously contemplated and leverage the powers provided by the deal in areas that many voters perceive as weaker than former President Donald Trump. .
The Senate agreement, expected to be announced as early as next week, will speed up the asylum process, which reviews cases within six months, compared to the current system, which takes up to 10 years to review asylum seekers.
The details come after months of high-profile developments as Senate leaders remain hopeful they can cobble together a deal on aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan amid looming domestic and international crises. This opened a new door for high-level negotiations. The plan also comes as President Trump has called on Republicans to reject any legislation that falls short of what he calls a “perfect” bill, so the plan would require Republicans to either authorize these new authorities or Or there will be pressure to decide whether to reject the plan.
In a rare statement on ongoing congressional negotiations, Biden said the deal Senate negotiators have been working on is tough and fair.
“What we have negotiated so far, if passed into law, would be the toughest and fairest reforms to securing our borders ever,” he said in a statement Friday. Stated. “It would give me, as president, new emergency powers to close the border in times of disruption. And if I were given that power, I would exercise it the same day I signed the bill.”
The soon-to-be-released plan would give the Department of Homeland Security new emergency powers to close the border if the number of migrant encounters reaches an average of 4,000 per day over a week. If immigrant arrivals increase by an average of more than 5,000 people per day in a given week, DHS must close the border to immigrants who enter the country illegally without entering a port of entry. Certain immigrants will be allowed to stay if they can prove they are fleeing torture or persecution in their home country.
Additionally, if the number of daily crossings exceeds 8,500, DHS would be required to close the border to immigrants who cross the border illegally. Under the proposal, immigrants who attempt to cross twice during border closures would be barred from entering the United States for one year.
The goal of the three negotiators, Republican Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma, Independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, and Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, is to prevent a surge that would overwhelm federal authorities. It is. The Biden administration and Senate leadership are deeply involved in the talks, and details of the agreement are expected to be announced in the coming days.
In December alone, more than 300,000 migrants were encountered. The official said if the new law takes effect, the border will now be closed to illegal immigrants. Another source familiar with the matter said certain migrants would be allowed to stay if they could prove they were fleeing persecution, and that emergency authorities would process them through legal ports of entry during the state of emergency. He said there would be at least 1,400 possible asylum applications. effect.
But the push for a deal comes as President Trump is rallying Republicans to reject any compromise on immigration as he campaigns against Biden’s handling of the border crisis. But many senior Senate Republicans, including Mitch McConnell, say the issue needs to be addressed now because Democrats have indicated they intend to approve tougher restrictions.
This headline and article have been updated with additional reporting.
CNN’s Betsy Klein contributed to this report.
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