OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
The Republican-led House is maintaining its stance that any assistance provided to Ukraine should be linked to long-term reforms to the United States’ border policies.
In response to the Biden administration’s request to expedite aid for Ukraine, House Speaker Mike Johnson wrote a letter to Shalanda Young, the director of the Office of Management and Budget.
The Speaker recalled that during a meeting in October with administration officials, including Young and national security adviser Jake Sullivan, he established conditions for Republicans to support additional aid to Ukraine.
“First, I explained that supplemental Ukraine funding is dependent upon the enactment of transformative change to our nation’s border security laws,” Johnson wrote.
Ukraine funding and border policy have grown inseparable since Republicans boosted border provisions in the administration’s initial supplemental request, which also included aid to support security in the Indo-Pacific region, border security, Israel, and Ukraine.
To release funds for Ukraine, Republicans argue that action at the border is required.
Senate Republicans who participated in bipartisan talks later demanded restrictions on immigration parole and asylum that went too far, even though immigrant advocates had already taken issue with the administration’s border requests.
As the Democratic Party considered drastically reducing asylum, factions like the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) felt left out in the cold during those negotiations.
In his letter, Johnson used H.R. 2, the House Republican border security bill that was passed earlier this year, to outline the kind of border policy demands that the GOP is seeking. No Democrat voted for H.R. 2, and that’s saying something because many of its provisions are dead ends.
Whatever the case may be with border policy, Johnson’s letter echoed Republican concerns about helping Ukraine.
“Second, I explained that Congress and the American people must be provided with answers to our repeated questions concerning the administration’s strategy to prevail in Ukraine, clearly defined and obtainable objectives, transparency and accountability for U.S. taxpayer dollars invested there, and what specific resources are required to achieve victory and a sustainable peace,” Johnson wrote.
Days after the Senate negotiations on the supplemental broke down, the Speaker’s letter highlights how far apart the sides are.
Republicans and Democrats have polar opposite viewpoints on the current border security crisis.
Many Democrats contend that migration is happening regardless and that humanitarian protections are a crucial safety valve, while Republicans assert that U.S. humanitarian laws are what are causing mass migration in the Western Hemisphere.
To put it simply, Democrats gauge the problem by how smoothly people can enter the United States, while Republicans use the number of migrants arriving at the border as their yardstick.
“Concerning the U.S. border, the need to regain operational control has never been more urgent, and the American people deserve immediate action,” Johnson wrote.
The phrase “operational control” is defined in a 1996 law as the “prevention of all unlawful entries into the United States, including entries by terrorists, other unlawful aliens, instruments of terrorism, narcotics, and other contraband,” a bar that’s set too high, according to most border enforcement experts.
The Republicans have been using a certain standard to criticize the administration of President Biden. They are also pushing for the impeachment of the Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas.
Senator Johnson is indicating to the Senate that a House supplemental, similar to the administration’s initial proposal, will not pass. He is doing this by aligning with the right flank of the House GOP when it comes to border demands.
Even though bipartisan discussions on border security and Ukraine have stalled, Senator Chuck Schumer, the Majority Leader of the Senate, has advanced a bill to advance the supplemental package.
As part of the Biden administration’s approach to the border, Republicans in the Senate are also standing firm, calling for stricter asylum laws and heavy limitations on immigration parole.
