The Senate has unveiled a bipartisan immigration bill three decades in the making. Donald Trump is working to derail it. And many Republicans in Congress are rushing to help — even if it means throwing fellow conservative colleagues under the bus.
The bill contains plenty to offend both sides. It provides resources to accelerate asylum review, which has long suffered from intentional Congressional underfunding. It toughens border enforcement while supplementing the physical barrier. It increases the number of Border Patrol agents, asylum officers, detention beds and deportation flights out, to more quickly process and deport people, ending “catch-and-release.” It relaxes some work restrictions to reduce the burden on host communities. If, on any given day, migrants surge and overwhelm resources (a maximum of 5,000 people), the U.S. will close the border.
