OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
The Republican-led House is sticking firm on its demand that any aid to Ukraine be contingent on long-term reforms to the United States’ border policies.
House Speaker Mike Johnson pushed back against the Biden administration’s demands that aid be expedited for Ukraine in a letter he sent to Shalanda Young, the director of the Office of Management and Budget.
According to Johnson’s recollection in the letter, the Speaker established conditions for Republicans to back additional aid to Ukraine during a meeting in October with administration officials, including Young and national security adviser Jake Sullivan.
“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.
Republicans have used this bar to criticize Biden’s administration and to argue for the impeachment of Alejandro Mayorkas, the secretary of homeland security.
Johnson is signaling to the Senate that a House supplemental similar to the administration’s initial proposal will not pass by remaining on the right flank of the House GOP when it comes to border demands.
Although bipartisan discussions on border security and Ukraine stalled over the weekend, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) nonetheless advanced a bill to advance the supplemental package on Monday.
“The step I am taking tonight will ensure the process for the supplemental moves forward and that hopefully, disagreements on immigration do not prevent us from doing what we must do to protect America’s security,” Schumer said.
As part of the Biden administration’s carrot-and-stick approach to the border, Republicans in the Senate are also standing firm, calling for stricter asylum laws and heavy limitations on immigration parole.
“We made great progress, I think, on asylum, but the Democratic Party seems to be unwilling to address the key problem: parole,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Tuesday at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.
Republicans do not intend to change their minds about the compromises that several Senate Democrats acknowledged last week as being feasible.
“Rather than engaging with Congressional Republicans to discuss logical reforms, the Biden Administration has ignored reality, choosing instead to engage in political posturing,” Johnson wrote.
“We stand ready and willing to work with the Administration on a robust border security package that protects the interests of the American people. It is well past time for the administration to meaningfully engage with us.”
