- Comes amid talks over a $100 billion aid package for Ukraine, Taiwan and Israel
- A more comprehensive policy would lead to a deportation process without asylum screening
- Title 42 is effectively revived after Biden finally ended Trump-era policies in May
President Joe Biden's White House is signaling to Congress that it is open to backing a dramatic new border strategy to expel migrants without screening them for asylum, in an effort to force Republicans to back more aid to Ukraine.
Reports of the quid pro quo come as Democrats in Congress seek more help for the war-torn country in its conflict with Russia. Biden wants to combine a $100 billion package with help for Israel to defend against Hamas terrorists and Taiwan, which faces looming threats from China.
Meanwhile, Republicans continue to criticize Biden for his lax border policies, saying they have led to reduced national security and an increase in drug and human trafficking.
But the new proposal would essentially restore Title 42, allowing officials to pause asylum law without a public health emergency, just seven months after the Biden administration finally ended the pandemic-era policy that first was introduced by then-President Donald Trump.
Biden said at a White House press conference on Tuesday that he has “already offered a compromise” to Republicans on Capitol Hill.
President Joe Biden is negotiating with Republicans to get a $100 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan in exchange for dramatically tightening border policies — including effectively reinstating Title 42 and deporting migrants without hearing asylum claims
Despite the reports, Biden said at the White House on Tuesday that Republican lawmakers “holding Ukraine's funding hostage in an effort to push an extreme Republican partisan agenda at the border is not how it works.”
He claims Republican lawmakers are “holding Ukraine's funding hostage in an attempt to push an extreme Republican partisan agenda at the border, this is not how it works – we need real solutions.”
The Biden administration told lawmakers: according to a new CBS News reportthat the president is looking at a tougher policy at the southern border that would address some of these Republican demands — including streamlining deportations and expanding detentions and expulsions.
Four people familiar with the conversations said the White House had informed Senate Democrats that it could support a sweeping change in immigration policy as part of Biden's negotiations on a $100 billion package that would also include military aid to Ukraine, Israel and would include Taiwan.
If agreed upon, the new package would also include money to strengthen border enforcement and hire more immigration officers.
Biden said at the White House on Tuesday that his team is “working with Democrats and Republicans in the Senate to try to find a bipartisan compromise.”
The talks, he added, include looking at “changes in policy and providing the resources we need to secure the border.”
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the Biden administration — combined with congressional approval — has sent more than $75 billion in financial and material aid to Kiev.
Republicans claim this is more than enough and do not want to send more money to Ukraine. They have rejected Democrats who have tried to push through a joint aid package that includes aid to Ukraine and Israel.
At the same time, illegal border crossings continue to increase and the fentanyl drug crisis has not stopped as illegal drugs continue to flow across the southern border.
Republicans have refused to pass sweeping legislation that would include more aid to Ukraine, after Biden already agreed to send more than $75 billion in financial and material aid to Kiev.
Republicans have made the border crisis and loosening of immigration policies a centerpiece of their criticism of the Biden White House.
But now the White House wants to admit that Biden administration officials are talking to members of Congress.
During negotiations, Biden would support expanding the process to expedite removal from the U.S. without court hearings if migrants do not seek asylum or pass their initial asylum interview.
This type of policy is limited to the border region, but would be expanded nationwide.
In addition, Biden is said to be willing to mandate the detention of migrants entering the US while awaiting trial for their claims, rather than releasing them into the country. It is unclear whether the US has the space to hold such a volume of migrants crossing the border illegally.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas was on Capitol Hill Tuesday to speak to Senate negotiators, according to three people who spoke to CBS.
The talks come as Congress prepares to adjourn for the Christmas holidays at the end of the week.
Mayorkas and other Homeland Security officials are providing “technical assistance” to lawmakers and staff, and are not negotiating the terms of policy proposals, a senior DHS official said.