US Senate Unveils $118 Billion Bill That Pairs Border Policies With Aid for Ukraine and Israel

The US Senate on Sunday unveiled a $118 billion bipartisan border security bill that would also provide aid to Ukraine and Israel following months of negotiations. This sets off a long-shot effort to push the bill amid heavy skepticism from Republicans, including House Speaker Mike Johnson.

“We’ve reached an agreement on a bipartisan deal that includes the toughest and fairest set of border reforms in decades. And it includes support for Ukraine and Israel and provides humanitarian assistance for the Palestinian people. I urge Congress to pass this bill immediately,” President Joe Biden said in a statement.

$60 Billion for Ukraine

The national security supplemental legislation includes $60 billion in support for Ukraine, and $14.1 billion in security assistance to Israel, according to a summary released by Senate Appropriations Committee chair Patty Murray. The deal also includes $20.2 billion for US border security and a myriad of immigration policy changes agreed to by Democratic and Republican negotiators.

An additional $10 billion would provide humanitarian assistance for civilians in Gaza, the West Bank and Ukraine. The US would provide $4.83 billion to support key regional partners in the Indo-Pacific where tensions have risen between Taiwan and China, as well as $2.33 billion for Ukrainians displaced by Russia’s invasion and other refugees fleeing persecution.

Opposition from both sides

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he would take steps to hold an initial vote on the bill on Wednesday but faces opposition from both sides of the aisle. Independent US Senator Kyrsten Sinema told reporters the legislation would secure the southern border, including by requiring the Department of Homeland Security to close the border if there are an average of more than 5,000 crossing attempts per day over seven days.

“The priorities in this bill are too important to ignore and too vital to allow politics to get in the way,” Schumer said in a statement. “The United States and our allies are facing multiple, complex and, in places, coordinated challenges from adversaries who seek to disrupt democracy and expand authoritarian influence around the globe.” Schumer said the agreement see more frontline personnel and asylum officers hired and new processes instituted to provide “faster and fair” immigration decisions.

Mitch McConnell, the top Senate Republican, has been supportive of the negotiations, saying Republicans would not get a better deal under a Republican White House. But other congressional Republicans have said Biden can enact many of the changes they want to immigration policy through executive action, though they had previously called for legislative action.

Biden had asked Congress in October to pass a measure providing additional funds for aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, as Ukraine tries to repel Russian forces and following Oct. 7 raids by Hamas in Israel and a subsequent war. That request was stalled by House Republicans’ insistence that it be tied to a shift in immigration policy. Immigration is the second largest concern for Americans, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll published on Wednesday. The US Border Patrol arrested about 2 million migrants at the border in fiscal year 2023. Trump, the frontrunner for the Republican nomination to challenge Biden in the November election, has campaigned heavily on opposition to immigration.

(With agency inputs)