Biden told Republicans to stop blocking progress on legislation to tighten security at the US-Mexican border.
Washington:
The fate of US military aid to Ukraine as it fights Russia’s aggression and the politically explosive issue of illegal immigration to the United States were up in the air on Friday as President Joe Biden lobbied congressional Republicans to block a deal. Was reprimanded.
The Republican speaker of the House of Representatives said Congress is not ready to approve the renewal of vital US military aid to Ukraine for its desperate fight against Russian aggression, as there is no parallel agreement on strengthening the US-Mexican border. – Which is a major medium. Undocumented migrants.
The Senate “appears unable to reach any agreement,” Speaker Mike Johnson wrote in a letter to lawmakers, adding that in any case his party would not approve the House, meaning it would be “dead on arrival.” It would have happened.”
But Biden responded in a statement that Republicans and Democrats are indeed working intensively on a bipartisan agreement to address those border security issues.
“What has been negotiated – if passed into law – will be the toughest and fairest reform we have ever done to secure the border in our country,” he said in a statement. “If you’re serious about the border crisis, pass a bipartisan bill and I will sign it.”
He said, “As President, it will give me a new emergency authority to close the border if pressure increases. And if that authority is granted, I will use it the day I sign the bill. “
A bipartisan compromise had advanced in the Senate in recent days. It would add massive new aid to pro-Western Ukraine’s military — which is soon entering its third year of fighting President Vladimir Putin’s invasion — and sweeping reforms to U.S. immigration policy, including sealing the porous southern border. More capacity is involved.
But the complex negotiations now seem to be collapsing.
This comes after former President and presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump lobbied to run for president in November.
Trump, who has questioned US support for Ukraine’s war effort, has placed fears over illegal immigration at the center of his platform.
This week he called talks on broader border reforms “futile,” though senior Republicans had previously praised the proposed measures as the toughest new restrictions on border crossings in years.
Democrats hold limited control of the Senate, while Republicans hold their slim majority in the House, with far-right Trump allies holding the balance of power there.
Johnson said Biden was responsible for the “devastation at the border” and said Republicans would seek to remove Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in the impeachment process starting next week.
A vote on impeaching Mayorkas will be held “as soon as possible,” Johnson wrote.
The Democratic-controlled Senate would almost certainly acquit Mayorkas, meaning he would not be forced from his job, which includes responsibility for border security.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
