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FIRST ON FOX: The White Home is taking purpose at congressional Republicans, claiming that the GOP “sided with fentanyl traffickers’ by opposing a bipartisan border deal earlier this 12 months — days earlier than the invoice is once more because of hit the Senate, the place it’ll doubtless face stiff GOP opposition.
The White Home is touting the laws, which would offer funding for border operations, and features a mechanism to cease entries into the U.S. when encounters attain a sure stage. The invoice failed a check vote in February, by a vote of 49-50, in need of the 60 votes wanted to proceed. However, in a letter to senators dated Sunday night, Senate Majority Chief Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., revealed his plan to carry the invoice to the ground once more.
On the coronary heart of the invoice is a brand new momentary emergency border authority to mandate Title 42-style expulsions of migrants when migration ranges exceed 5,000 a day over a seven-day rolling common. It additionally narrows asylum eligibility whereas expediting the method, gives extra work permits for asylum seekers and funds an enormous enhance in staffing and different sources on the border.
Conservatives have rejected it, saying it does not go far sufficient and would regularize already-high ranges of unlawful immigration. However the Biden administration has persistently thrown its help behind the invoice, saying it’ll give the administration a better capacity to sort out the border disaster, and has accused Republicans of rejecting the invoice for political functions.
REPUBLICANS UNITE TO BLOCK WHITE HOUSE AND SCHUMER BACKED ‘FAKE BORDER BILL’
President Joe Biden delivers remarks about immigration and border safety on the Brownsville Station on February 29, 2024 in Olmito, Texas. (Picture by Cheney Orr/Getty Photographs)
In a memo, obtained first by Fox Information Digital, Senior Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates stated that President Biden has made cracking down on fentanyl a prime precedence, and stated the laws would make important steps in tackling the smuggling of the lethal illicit drug throughout the border.
“And combating again in opposition to the unfold of unlawful fentanyl is one in every of many compelling causes to help the hardest, fairest bipartisan border safety laws in fashionable historical past,” he stated.
Illicit fentanyl is predominantly created in Mexico utilizing Chinese language precursors after which smuggled throughout the U.S. land border. Bates highlighted provisions within the invoice that he stated would fund 100 machines to detect fentanyl in autos making an attempt to cross into the U.S.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS
“The invoice additionally gives for hiring 1000’s of latest regulation enforcement personnel on the border to function these machines and work to cease fentanyl from coming into our nation and costing extra harmless lives,” he stated.
He famous that supporters of the invoice had spotlighted these measures when unveiling the deal, together with Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla. Lankford was one in every of solely 4 in his social gathering to vote in favor of transferring ahead with the negotiated invoice in February. It is unclear if he would help it once more.
“However as a substitute of supporting laws endorsed by the Border Patrol Union, congressional Republicans sided with fentanyl traffickers,” Bates wrote within the memo. “Fairly than working throughout the aisle to cease fentanyl trafficking, most congressional Republicans stopped laws to save lots of American lives from fentanyl.”
EL MONTE, CA – April 06: A billboard put up by Households In opposition to Fentanyl shows their message on the ten freeway close to Peck Street in El Monte, CA on Thursday, April 6, 2023. (Picture by Paul Bersebach/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register by way of Getty Photographs)
Bates accused Republicans of opposing the invoice “sheerly out of politics” and underneath strain from former President Donald Trump, after which teed up the vote within the Senate later this week.
“So Congressional Republicans have to decide on: will they once more determine that politics is extra essential than stopping fentanyl traffickers and saving the lives of harmless constituents?” he stated.
“Joe Biden is aware of the place he stands,” he added.
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Republicans have united in opposition to the invoice, and have rejected claims that their opposition is political, arguing as a substitute that the invoice would lock within the current historic disaster.
Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., final week mentioned the potential revival of the measure, telling Fox Information host Maria Bartiromo that Democrats weren’t working in good religion in the course of the negotiations.
“Democrats had been at all times negotiating for political cowl with their failed border invoice,” he wrote on X.
“That can nonetheless be the case in the event that they determine to carry it up once more. It was an terrible invoice, that’s why it died inside 24 hours of it being launched,” he added.
“The faux border invoice will fail, once more, as a result of it does nothing to noticeably safe the border – simply cement outrageous ranges of unlawful immigration,” wrote Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah on X, the platform previously often called Twitter.
In a press release, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., Majority Chief Steve Scalise, R-La., Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., and Republican convention Chairwoman Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., stated, “Chief Schumer is attempting give his weak members cowl by bringing a vote on a invoice which has already failed as soon as within the Senate as a result of it will really codify lots of the disastrous Biden open border insurance policies that created this disaster within the first place.
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They’ve as a substitute known as for the passage of border safety laws that was handed within the Home final 12 months. That invoice would proceed border wall funding, and shut down parole processes into the U.S. amongst different provisions.
“If Senate Democrats had been really critical about fixing the issue and ending the border disaster, they might carry up H.R. 2 and go it this week,” they stated.
Fox Information’ Julia Johnson contributed to this report.
Adam Shaw is a politics reporter for Fox Information Digital, primarily masking immigration and border safety.
He will be reached at adam.shaw2@fox.com or on Twitter.
White Home accuses GOP of siding ‘with fentanyl traffickers’ by opposing border invoice
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