Senate Democrats walked out of negotiations on border security this week. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Republican demands for border security were too much for Democrats to stomach. In retaliation, Republicans blocked passage of a Senate bill to fund Ukraine and Israel. The root of the impasse: the Great Replacement invasion by illegal aliens at the southwest border. Treason Lobbyists now say the Biden Administration made a serious error in trying to entice Republicans to vote vast sums for Ukraine and Israel by offering improved border security because it has let the immigration genii out of the bottle [Biden Tied Ukraine Aid to Border Security, and It Backfired on Him, by Zolan Kanno-Youngs, New York Times, December 8, 2023]. With border agents handling a record number of illegals at the southwest border, the survival of the American nation is at stake.
Republican demands would do much to secure the border. But Democrats whine that the current immigration negotiations force them to concede to GOP demands with nothing in return. “It became pretty apparent by the end of last week that we were the only ones compromising. There’s still an opportunity to come back to the table,” said Connecticut’s Chris Murphy, the lead Democrat negotiator [The GOP demands that caused Democrats to walk out of border talks, by Joseph Zeballos-Roig, Semafor, December 4, 2023].
Yet Republican demands are not that extreme. Their opening pitch demanded a border wall, the reinstatement of Remain in Mexico, reforming abused asylum policies that allow illegal aliens to stay here and avoid deportation, and curbs on the Biden Regime’s power to grant parole. Though notorious cuck Thom Tillis led the Republican side, the party stuck to its demands. House Speaker Mike Johnson encouraged his Senate colleagues to stick to a hard line [House Speaker Johnson is insisting on sweeping border security changes in a deal for Ukraine aid, by Stephen Groves and Lisa Mascaro, Associated Press, December 5, 2023].
Republicans seem remarkably united on withholding funding for Ukraine unless something is done about border security—evidence of the pressure they’re feeling from the base. Even notorious squishes such as Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Texas’s John Cornyn, and Utah’s Mitt Romney advocate the tactic. “Dems want $106B—GOP wants a closed border. That’s the trade,” Romney said in a recent Tweet. “But clueless Dems want to negotiate the border bill. Not going to happen. Is an open border more important to Dems than Ukraine and Israel?”
And that isn’t just empty rhetoric. GOP senators walked out of a classified briefing on Ukraine to protest Democrats’ refusal to secure the border. They followed up by blocking the bill that would’ve sent tax dollars to Ukraine and Israel. “I don’t think they are [taking us seriously enough],” Cornyn told reporters. “It may take a failed cloture vote for them to realize we’re serious, and we’re prepared to do that” [Senate Republicans block Ukraine, Israel funding bill, by Al Weaver, The Hill, December 6, 2023].
Though Establishment Republicans LOVE Ukraine and Israel, they’re apparently nevertheless willing to play hardball to bring Democrats to the negotiating table and agree to sensible border security. “This is not a traditional negotiation, where we expect to come up with a bipartisan compromise on the border,” Cornyn said. “This is a price that has to be paid in order to get the supplemental” (the bill that funds Ukraine and Israel) [Immigration talks collapse, threatening to sink aid to Israel and Ukraine, by Sahil Kapur et al., NBC, December 4, 2023].
Good thing is, the impasse is sowing discord among Democrats. Most want an Amnesty as part of the deal. They also complain that tying foreign aid to border security damages America’s international relations. Eleven Democrats, including Majority Whip Dick Durbin, issued a letter denouncing the negotiations:
Using a one-time spending package to enact these unrelated permanent policy changes sets a dangerous precedent and risks assistance to our international partners. Any proposal considering permanent changes to our asylum and immigration system needs to include a clear path to legalization for long-standing undocumented immigrants.
Padilla Leads 10 Colleagues in Joint Statement on Proposed Threats to Asylum System in Supplemental Aid Package Negotiations, November 29, 2023
Many Democrats say they won’t vote for any bill that doesn’t contain an Amnesty. They aren’t satisfied simply by funding for Ukraine [Border-Ukraine pairing threatens to tear Democrats apart, by Rafael Bernal and Rebecca Beitsch, The Hill, December 2, 2023].
Beside the lack of Amnesty, the Democrat negotiators’ chief problem was Republican insistence on limiting Biden’s power to grant parole to foreigners. The parole power has been abused to welcome tens of thousands of illegals into the country this year alone. Naturally, Republicans want that to end. Biden and his fellow Democrats say it’s a “nonstarter” to take this power away. They argue that the president needs parole power to save people who are “dying.” Republicans, correctly, disagree [Senators struggle to find middle ground on immigration policy changes key to passing Ukraine-Israel aid, by Lauren Fox and Priscilla Alvarez, CNN, November 28, 2023].
But Democrats aren’t the only ones with intra-caucus tensions. Republicans might also struggle to sell a border deal. Some fiscal conservatives want any budget deal that includes border funding to make serious spending cuts. In the fall, House conservatives torpedoed former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s budget deal, which contained border provisions, because of spending. They might do it again.
And some Republicans might vote against any Ukraine funding. The GOP House majority is so thin that just a few votes can destroy the whole plan [House Speaker Mike Johnson’s honeymoon period is over, by Ken Tran, The Hill, December 4, 2023].
That slim House majority leaves the GOP with little political capital to accomplish anything with the budget deal. And the majority that the party does have is hardly united on anything. Immigration is the one issue that demands immediate attention and where there’s relative unity. It’s also important to voters. It’s a solid issue for the GOP/GAP.
Most of the party seems to get the message. Conservative pressure is having a positive effect on the Senate negotiations. It makes the GOP stick to strong demands and refuse to consider Amnesty. Party leaders are smart enough to know that their caucus would reject it. And so they’re holding aide to Ukraine hostage to browbeat Democrats. Ukraine funding is less controversial among the Republican caucus than Amnesty.
Inking a deal that secures the border requires two things: backbone and unity. Senate and House Republicans must continue to block Ukraine funding if nothing is done about the invasion. There can be no turncoats. If the GOP remains resolute, it can easily force their opponents to cave.
Democrats are a mess over this. “Moderate” Democrats realize something should be done about the border. It’s just a matter of whether they want to upset the Far Left. If Republicans stay united, they can get enough Democrats to vote for a budget bill that includes border security and Ukraine funding. It’s that simple. Biden and his colleagues might be persuaded to surrender to stem the damage from the invasion in the next election [No good answers for Biden as voters recoil over border crossings, by Peter Nicholas et al., NBC, December 2, 2023].
BREAKING: Per CBP sources, there were more than 12,000 migrant encounters at the southern border yesterday, the highest single day total ever recorded. This includes 10,200+ Border Patrol apprehensions of illegal immigrants, amongst the highest daily totals for BP ever recorded.
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) December 6, 2023
This issue is more important than ever. As talks collapsed on Capitol Hill, on December 5, border agents encountered the highest number of illegal aliens ever on a single day: 12,000. And those are just the ones they caught. More than 200,000 monthly apprehensions are now routine. This invasion is not sustainable. Congress must do something to curtail this civilizational threat.
Republicans have the power. They just have to make the Democrats blink and turn away from their Far Left base.
It’s reassuring to immigration patriots that Establishment squishes are fighting for border security and not offering Amnesty.
They now just have to deliver and not agree to another temporary spending bill to punt the fight to another time. Congress wants to adjourn for Christmas by next Friday, December 15. So we’re going to have an interesting week.
