Sen. Chuck Schumer, the New York Democrat and majority leader, plans to push for another vote this week on a bipartisan border security bill that Senate Republicans rejected earlier this year at the urging of former President Donald J. Trump.
The bill is almost certain to be blocked again, but Democrats will use the failure this time around as polls show it could be a major potential liability for President Biden and his nominees. He hopes to sharpen the contrast with Republicans on key issues in an election year.
Democrats aim to neutralize the issue by showing voters that they, along with Mr. Biden, have sought to curb immigration at the U.S. border with Mexico, but have been repeatedly thwarted by Republicans following Mr. Trump’s lead. right.
“The former president made it clear that he would rather save this issue for his campaign than resolve it in a bipartisan manner,” Schumer said in a letter to colleagues, previewing the bill’s provisions. He outlined his plans. “That signaled many of my Republican colleagues to suddenly reverse their previous support and express new opposition to the bipartisan proposal.”
After months of negotiations, Republicans and Democrats reached an unlikely immigration compromise in February. The bill, which Republican lawmakers had argued was a precondition for additional aid to Ukraine, appeared to have a chance of passing. But Trump insisted the proposal was too weak and instructed his allies in Congress to vote it down. The bill failed in the Senate, falling short of the 60 votes needed to pass, with all but four Republicans voting to block it. (In the 50-49 vote, three Democrats and one independent also voted “no,” denying the bill even with a simple majority.)
Biden, whose team helped craft the deal, on Monday appealed for support for the deal in a statement from White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, saying, “We strongly support this bill and have asked all senators to give their nonpartisan opinions.” We ask that you express your opinion.” Put politics aside and vote to secure our borders. ”
The measure, among other changes to immigration law, would make it more difficult to obtain asylum in the United States and increase the detention and deportation of people who enter the country without authorization. It would also effectively close the border completely if the average number of migrants encountered by immigration officials exceeds a certain threshold (5,000 on average per week, 8,500 on any given day). The bill would also give the president the power to unilaterally close the border if encounters with migrants reach an average of 4,000 people per day over a week.
Although the number of people entering the country has fallen sharply in recent months, the average daily number in March was well above that standard, at just over 6,000, according to Customs and Border Protection. Polls show Americans are deeply concerned about the situation at the southern border.
The compromise was negotiated by Sen. James Lankford, Republican of Oklahoma. Sen. Christopher S. Murphy, Democrat of Connecticut. and independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema from Arizona. Murphy announced at a press conference last week that he and Schumer would reintroduce the bill.
“If Republicans believe this situation at the border is an emergency, let’s give them another chance to do the right thing,” Murphy said.
Republicans quickly signaled they intended to block the bill again.
“This ‘border security bill’ does nothing to secure our border. In Biden’s hands, our border will be far less secure,” Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, wrote on social media. . “I vote ‘definitely no’!”
“If the bill reaches the House, it will be dead on arrival,” Speaker Mike Johnson and the rest of the House Republican leadership said in a joint statement.
On the Senate floor last week, Lankford opposed Schumer’s plan to reintroduce the bill he helped negotiate, calling the move political.
“Why are we doing this?” Lankford said. “All Americans are watching it. Everyone recognizes that this is political.”
Lankford pointed to a memo written by his Democratic colleagues that credited repeal of the border bill with helping Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi flip his seat in New York.
“This bill that I worked with with Sen. Murphy and Sen. Sinema will not pass,” Lankford said. “Okay, let’s try to find a section that we can get through. The worst case scenario is to do nothing. That’s what we’re doing right now.”
Karl Hulse and Michael D. Shear Contributed to the report.
