More details emerged on the foundering Senate border that a bipartisan trio of negotiators have been working on for months, and the fresh details likely spell doom for the deal in the GOP-led House.
The latest on the border deal confirms leaked details first reported by The Washington Times that the plan would automatically shutter the U.S./Mexico Border once illegal border crossings hit 5,000 a day for a week.
New insight into the deal, which the Senate is trying to tie to billions of dollars in aid for Ukraine, Taiwan and Israel, expands the threshold of authority for the DHS to shutter the border, according to reporting from CNN.
Along with the automatic trigger of 5,000 crossings per day over a week, the agency would have the authority to shut down the border if illegal crossings crossings hit 4,000 per day over a week. The border would also automatically close if single-day illegal crossings reached 8,500 migrants.
House Speaker Mike Johnson signaled on Friday that the border was likely “dead on arrival” in the GOP-led House because it did not include more stringent policy changes to quell the flow of illegal migrants.
The latest on the high-stakes negotiations comes after Senate Republicans proclaimed earlier in the week that the deal was on life support following a push from former President Donald Trump calling on lawmakers not to support anything short of a “perfect” deal.
Republicans have been dead set on seeing the House GOP’s marquee border bill, the Secure the Border Act, included in the Senate deal. That legislation includes the revival of Mr. Trump’s Remain in Mexico policy and ending the Biden administration’s catch-and-release practices.
Meanwhile, President Biden vowed he would get tough on border security if Congress produced a bipartisan bill for him to sign.
“Securing the border through these negotiations is a win for America,” Mr. Biden said. “For everyone who is demanding tougher border control, this is the way to do it. If you’re serious about the border crisis, pass a bipartisan bill and I will sign it.”
• Alex Miller can be reached at amiller@washingtontimes.com.