WASHINGTON – Democratic lawmakers and the White House are considering giving the administration new powers to expel migrants from the country as part of a potential immigration overhaul to satisfy Republicans blocking aid to Ukraine, according to two sources familiar with the discussions.
The sources also said that a significant expansion of migrant detention and deportation is also on the table – although there is not even a formal framework for a deal at this point. Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., plans to brief Senate Republicans on the status of the talks Wednesday afternoon after negotiators meet with White House officials Tuesday night, three sources confirmed.
Immigration advocacy groups are furious, likening the proposed authority to Title 42, former President Donald Trump’s ICE-era public health order that made it easier for the US to deport immigrants. The pro-immigration group FWD.us calls the proposal “Title 42 on steroids,” arguing that it would allow the president to declare an open-ended emergency for almost any reason.
On Wednesday, Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said negotiators were still working out the details of the deal and urged senators to stay in town and not leave until they have an agreement.
“We’ve now seen what the White House has sent over. I think to the extent that I’ve heard some Democrats express concern, I think that’s progress,” Tillis said. “It’s something to build on. And I, for one, think that we should stay until we get it resolved. I don’t think we should leave next week.
Two sources familiar with the Senate negotiations said the policy proposals no longer include expanding expedited removal of migrants from the interior of the country, which could have potentially allowed the expulsion of migrants from major cities such as New York and Chicago, which have seen a huge influx over the past year.
Another provision under consideration by Senate negotiators would require the detention of migrants pending adjudication of their claims, according to a source familiar with the discussions.
A CHC source called the proposal “logistically impossible” due to the limited number of detention facilities; the US government does not have the physical infrastructure to detain all migrants who enter the country illegally. Two DHS officials told that the provision could “break the border” because of the large number of migrants who would be detained indefinitely because their countries refuse to take back deportees.
In its supplemental funding request, the White House asked for more money for detention beds.
If the White House and Democratic leaders include the proposed immigration policy changes as part of a supplemental funding package, CHC leadership is expected to actively and vocally work to defeat the measure, a senior congressional source told NBC News, accusing the White House and Senate leaders of “refusing to engage, consult or lay out what they’re willing to accept” with immigration advocates.
CHC members have grown increasingly frustrated with the White House, saying officials have refused to engage with them on their concerns about the border measures. They requested an ‘urgent’ meeting with the White House more than a week ago, but have yet to receive a meeting.
A spokesman for Senator Chris Murphy, D-Connecticut, one of the lead negotiators on the supplemental funding bill, declined to comment.
The Biden administration has urged Congress to pass the $106 billion supplemental funding bill, which would include aid for Ukraine and Israel as well as money to strengthen security on the US southern border. Republican negotiators have balked at approving new funding for Ukraine without broader changes to immigration policy.
President Joe Biden has said he’s willing to make concessions and compromise with Republicans to get the funding bill passed. But on Tuesday, during a press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, he warned against tying the passage of much-needed aid to Ukraine to border funding.
“Holding Ukraine funding hostage to try to force an extreme Republican partisan agenda on the border is not the way to do it,” Biden said. “We need real solutions.”
Vanessa Cárdenas, executive director of America’s Voice, said it could hurt Biden’s re-election chances in 2024 by alienating Latinos and young voters.
“Caving in to Republican demands and adopting the Trump-Miller policy is an extreme and unnecessary move and amounts to both policy and political malpractice,” she said. “Advancing these draconian proposals will not win the Biden administration any credit from the GOP, and it may not even get them the aid the president so desperately wants and Ukraine so desperately needs.”
However, a White House official pushed back against the suggestion that the Biden administration had already agreed to any changes in immigration policy.
“The White House has not signed off on any specific policy proposals or final agreements, and reports attributing specific policy positions to the White House are inaccurate,” said White House spokesman Angelo Fernandez Hernandez. “As the president said yesterday, we are working to find a bipartisan compromise on both policy and funding related to the border. We are encouraged by the progress made at yesterday’s meeting.
