After three months of negotiations, U.S. senators are still waiting for a deal to address humanitarian and national security concerns at the southern border.
President Joe Biden pitched an additional round of funding for the border in October as part of a more than $100 billion supplemental spending request.
The proposal included tens of billions in additional U.S. support for Ukraine, Israel’s military, and efforts to bolster alliances and partnerships in the Indo-Pacific region.
While President Biden’s proposal called for more funding for personnel to process immigration cases, Republicans have instead demanded that any deal should secure the border.
That means stricter policies on immigrants entering the United States as well as funding to resume border wall construction.
Congress still hadn’t reached a deal on the border before they recessed for the winter holidays. Since returning, congressional leaders have indicated some optimism for a deal, but Republican senators remain skeptical until they see the details.
“We keep getting told this deal is a great deal. It’s the best deal in the world. That’s what our leadership tells us. And yet they won’t let us see a word of it,” Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) told NTD News on Jan. 24.
Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) also wondered where the sense of urgency was for a deal, saying negotiations thus far have been “a gabfest.”
“It’s just been all talk and meanwhile, tens and tens and tens of thousands of people come across the border, and we don’t have the slightest idea who they are,” the Louisiana Republican told NTD News.
The calls for details from rank-and-file Senate Republicans come amid reports that former President Donald Trump has pressured Republican negotiators to either deliver strong border security terms or reject a deal.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said negotiators had a “very good meeting and a very positive meeting” on the border deal this past week.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) also described the Jan. 17 discussions as “productive.”
Days earlier he had said “absolutely not” to a deal Mr. Schumer and Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) had allegedly reached that included raising the number of green cards issued per year by 50,000 and allowing the release of 5,000 illegal immigrants per day into the United States.
Mr. Lankford denounced the description of the purported agreement as “a lie.”
For outside observers like Mr. Hawley, who are still waiting for the actual language, the reported agreement did not inspire confidence.
“We’re pressured to support something that we cannot see, and everything we get told about it, from my point of view, sounds bad,” the Missouri Republican told NTD News.
Mr. Kennedy also expressed dismay at the lack of information available to those outside the negotiating room.
“The number of people involved in negotiations is limited. The rest of us don’t really know what’s going on. I understand the need for discretion because this place leaks like the Titanic.
“But at the same time, I also understand the need for transparency. And it is time for our negotiators to put something on the floor,” Mr. Kennedy said.
Fetterman Wary that Republicans Will ‘Weaponize’
Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) said he shares concerns about the U.S. border and immigration system. But he expressed a wariness that Republicans may leverage the issue to score political points.
“The Senate and Congress have to deliver on a comprehensive border security situation. We should absolutely,” the freshman Pennsylvania senator told NTD News on Jan. 24.
“And I don’t understand why it would be controversial to think that we should have a secure border, and we should be able to make sure that our immigration system works so we’re able to create an American Dream for every migrant.”
Mr. Fetterman expressed concerns following reports that U.S. border officials encountered more than 300,000 illegal border crossers and asylum seekers at the southern border in December.
He noted that the record-setting number of border encounters would surpass the population of the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He also shared concerns about the flow of illicit narcotics across the border and the prevalence of these narcotics in communities across the country.
“Of course, fentanyl is an issue here in my community,” he said. “So, again, just because you may not be living next to that kind of a situation, it’s like we would want a solution to something very critical, and it’s a very important national issue.”
When asked if he thinks Republicans will eventually agree on a border deal, Mr. Fetterman said he hopes his Republican colleagues aren’t “trying to weaponize” the negotiations, but said he’s optimistic about a deal.
“They think it’s a political winner to try to turn it into a football. But I’m very hopeful, and I’m ready to vote for it,” the Pennsylvania Democrat said.
Mr. Fetterman insisted that President Joe Biden is taking the issue of border security seriously, and he accused Republicans of delaying other aspects of President Biden’s supplemental spending request over the border issues.
“I know the president understands that there’s so much riding on this. A more secure border, aid for Ukraine,” Mr. Fetterman said. “And it’s disgusting. It’s disgusting that Trump and other Republicans are willing to turn their back on the Ukrainians. . .We all have so much riding on this.”
Mr. Kennedy pushed the blame for delays back on President Biden.
“President Biden has said recently and repeatedly that he wants to secure the border. But he keeps being an obstructionist in terms of us putting together a deal to secure the border,” Mr. Kennedy said.
“Look, President Biden this afternoon, he could bring all this to resolution.”
Mr. Hawley defended President Trump’s inputs on the border discussions and said negotiators should take them seriously considering that President Trump is leading the primary contest for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
“I think that it would be really weird if congressional leaders said, ‘We don’t care at all about the nominee of our party, who is going to have to go in and run the campaign this fall. We’re gonna give zero regard for what he has to say on the biggest piece of legislation in front of us,'” Mr. Hawley said.
“That seems strange.”
Sam Wang and Luis Martinez contributed to this article.