On Tuesday, the Biden administration signaled its openness to support a new border authority allowing the expulsion of migrants without asylum screenings. Additionally, there is consideration for a significant expansion of immigration detention and deportations. This move is seen as an effort to secure Republican support for aid to Ukraine, according to four sources familiar with the matter who spoke to CBS News.
The White House communicated to Senate Democrats that it might endorse these extensive and stringent changes in immigration policy as part of negotiations over President Biden’s emergency funding request, a package totaling approximately $100 billion. This funding includes military aid for Israel, Taiwan, and Ukraine, along with allocations for reinforcing border enforcement and hiring additional immigration officials.
A group of senators has been working for weeks to forge an immigration enforcement deal, with Republicans linking further aid to Ukraine to policy changes aimed at curbing the record levels of illegal border crossings. President Biden, during a White House press conference on Tuesday, acknowledged ongoing efforts to find a bipartisan compromise on policy changes and resource allocation to secure the border. He emphasized a commitment to compromise while cautioning against holding Ukraine funding hostage for partisan agenda advancement, describing the need for genuine solutions.
In recent days, Mr. Biden’s administration has intensified its engagement with lawmakers. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas started engaging with negotiators in the Senate this week, three people with knowledge of his engagement told CBS News. a new border authority
Mayorkas was on Capitol Hill on Tuesday afternoon as lawmakers continued talks aimed at reaching a deal before Congress adjourns for the holidays. A senior Department of Homeland Security official said Mayorkas and other DHS officials are providing “technical assistance” to lawmakers and their staff, not negotiating policy proposals.
Specifically, the White House indicated that it would support a new, far-reaching legal authority to allow U.S. border officials to summarily expel migrants without processing their asylum claims. The measure would effectively revive the Trump-era Title 42 pandemic order and allow officials to pause U.S. asylum law, without a public health justification.
The administration would also back a nationwide expansion of a process known as expedited removal that allows immigration officials to deport migrants without court hearings if they don’t ask for asylum or if they fail their initial asylum interviews. The program is currently limited to the border region.
Moreover, the White House would be willing to mandate the detention of certain migrants who are allowed into the country pending the adjudication of their claims. It’s unclear how this provision would work since the U.S. government has never had the detention space to detain all migrants who cross into the country illegally.