The big changes on the immigration issue that Biden and Congress are preparing to unblock aid to Ukraine

USA has entered a key week to decide whether or not to approve the urgent help he needs Ukraine, a country that has been in full war with Russia since 2022. The great obstacle for this purpose is in the Senate, where the Republican Party refuses to give the green light to the new package for Kiev and for Israel if the Government of President Joe Biden does not toughens immigration policy. The president has already announced that he can give in.

On Wednesday of last week, Senate once again blocked a package of 106 billion dollars for Ukraine and Israeleven though hours before Biden had said that it is willing to make “significant concessions on the border” to release aid to their allies at war.

LOOK: How the political struggle in the United States would give Putin victory over Ukraine by the end of the year

For months now, Congress has blocked $61.4 billion in new aid for Ukraine proposed by the White House.

“It is time to reach an agreement that both parties can accept”White House Budget Director Shalanda Young said Sunday on CBS’ Face the Nation.

Connecticut Senator Chris Murphythe main negotiator of the Democratic Partyannounced that the White House would take a more active role in the talks.

According to a report from the AP agency, the republicans they allege that the record numbers of immigrants crossing the southern border They represent a threat to the country’s security because the authorities cannot adequately examine the background of all undocumented immigrants. They also maintain that those who enter USA They are depleting the country’s resources. The legislators republicans They add that they cannot justify to their constituents sending billions of dollars to other countries, even in times of war, without first addressing the issue of border.

More than 3.2 million arrests

of migrants there were on the border between Mexico and the United States in fiscal year 2023, which began on October 1, 2022 and ended on September 30, 2023.

On the side of Republican Partythe negotiation is headed by Senator James Lankfordof Oklahoma, who noted that The increase in people entering the United States from Mexico “is getting out of control.”

“All we are trying to do is say what tools are needed to be able to regain control, so that we don’t have chaos on our southern border,” Lankford said on CBS.

cnn He stressed that this week is key to reaching an agreement because starting next week the legislators will take a seven-day break for vacation.

This Tuesday, the president Biden will receive his counterpart from Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskywho also hopes to meet with representatives of Congress to unblock aid.

What Republicans demand

But what changes are Republicans demanding? The AP agency indicated that much of the negotiation is carried out in private, but maintained that the issues under discussion are known: higher standards for asylum seekers, so-called humanitarian parole and facilitating fast-track deportationsamong others.

For many immigration advocates, including some Democrats, some of the changes proposed by Republicans would eliminate protections for people who desperately need help and would not actually alleviate the chaos at the border, AP said.

The Democratic Negotiator Chris Murphy criticized the Republican political demands and said they were unreasonable.

“We do not want to close the United States to people who come here to be rescued from dangerous and miserable circumstances, where their lives are in danger.. The best thing about America is that you can come here to be rescued from terror and torture,” Murphy said on NBC’s Meet the Press.

The humanitarian parole

He humanitarian parole is a temporary immigration status granted by the Government of USA to people who need to enter the country for urgent humanitarian reasons or for a significant public benefit. It is typically used in emergency cases with a critical humanitarian purpose, such as medical treatment, family reunification, or the need for essential assistance in disaster relief efforts, among other situations where denial of entry could cause significant hardship to the applicant.

Under this rule, immigrants are generally admitted for a predetermined period and There is no path to American citizenship.

The AP agency detailed how the humanitarian parole It has been used by both Democratic and Republican governments over the years.

They did it to give entry to people from Hungary in the 1950sof Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos during the second half of the 1970salready Kurdish-Iraqi who had worked with the United States in the mid-1990saccording to research from the Cato Institute.

The government of Biden used it to bring 80,000 Afghans to the United States from Kabul after the Taliban takeover in 2021. Tens of thousands of Ukrainians who fled after the Russian invasion have also entered.

In January of this year, the administration Biden announced a plan to admit 30,000 people a month Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela through the humanitarian paroleas long as those migrants had a financial sponsor and flew to the United States rather than going to the US-Mexico border to enter, the AP reported.

According to the most recent official figures, Almost 270,000 people have been admitted to the United States as of October under that program.

The asylum

As for the asylumthis tool allows the migrant stay in the United States and have a path to citizenship as long as you can demonstrate credible fear of persecution in your home country due to race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinions.

The AP explained that asylum seekers must be on US soil to qualify for this protection. He added that they typically go through an initial assessment called a credible fear interview. To obtain asylum, They must remain in the United States and win their case in immigration court. That process can take years. Meanwhile, Asylum seekers can start working, marry, have children and make a life in the country.

Asylum critics point out that most applicants lose their cases in asylum courts. immigration. They add that immigrants know that if they apply asylumthey will basically be allowed to stay in the United States for years.

What is being discussed now in the United States Congress is raise the standards that asylum-seeking migrants must meet during the initial credible fear interview. Those who do not comply will be sent home automatically.

Expedited deportation

On the subject of expedited deportation, this was implemented in 1996 by Congress. It allows low-level immigration officials to quickly deport certain immigrants without having the case go to a judge, the AP detailed.

Generally, this tool is used with people detained about 100 miles (161 kilometers) from the border with Mexico either Canadaand within two weeks of arrival.

Those who defend accelerated deportation say that relieves the burden on immigration courts, but its detractors claim that its use is prone to errors and does not provide immigrants with sufficient protectionsuch as having a lawyer to help them defend their case.

The AP recalls that when the Republican donald trump was president, he pushed to expand accelerated deportation to the entire country and for longer periods, but the modification was never approved.