Will Congress approve Ukraine aid before time runs out? First, they have to reach a deal on the border

WASHINGTON — Congressional negotiators say they're getting closer to a deal on border legislation − and the Ukraine aid now tied to it − in the final days before the federal government runs out of funding for the war-weathered country.

However, it's still not clear negotiators will be able to reach an agreement before the end of the week, when lawmakers plan to head home for a break ahead of Christmas.

The time crunch is dialing up the pressure in Washington. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Capitol Hill on Tuesday to plea for additional help. But a swath of Republicans have maintained they need to see promises on the U.S. southern border before they lend their votes to an aid package for Ukraine.

President Joe Biden reportedly signaled to congressional negotiators he may be open to expanded deportation authorities in exchange for foreign aid. He's already facing pushback from members of his own party, including from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, who are furious Biden's entertaining policies that could make humanitarian asylum harder.

Senators aiming to strike an agreement conferred for more than two hours in a meeting Wednesday night, which included a visit from Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

Emerging from the meeting, chief Democratic negotiator Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut said the group had made progress and is "closer today than we were yesterday."

"No shock, this is hard. This is a real complicated set of law. But there is no reason that we can't finish this by the time we wrap up for the year," Murphy said.

Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma, the lead negotiator for Senate Republicans, reportedly said earlier Wednesday there has been "productive" movement between the White House and GOP lawmakers this week.

Sweeping policy changes on the table

Biden earlier this year proposed an aid package that would include $60 billion in aid to Ukraine, $14 billion for Israel, $10 billion for humanitarian assistance and $14 billion for U.S. border policies.

But Republican members in both chambers have threatened to withhold their support unless it includes additional policies aimed at stemming migration at the southern border. Those proposals are largely unpopular with Democrats.

Senate Republicans released a plan in November to require migrants to prove they were denied entry in at least one other country between the U.S. and their home nation in order to apply for asylum. Republicans have also proposed mandating migrants prove it is “more likely than not” they would face persecution in their home, rather than the current standard of a “significant possibility.”

The GOP-led House also passed its own border security bill earlier this year. That legislation would restart construction on a southern border wall and revive the Trump-era "Remain in Mexico" policy, which required migrants seeking asylum to stay outside the U.S. while their cases are reviewed. House Republicans have vowed they won't support any foreign aid bill that leaves out these measures.

On Monday, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., urged the Senate to take up the bill and said he needs additional "clarity" on how U.S. spending would be used in Ukraine.

"It is not the House's issue right now," he said. "The issue is with the White House and the Senate, and I implore them to do their job because the time is urgent."

But including border changes alongside Ukraine aid isn't popular with many Democrats, particularly Hispanic lawmakers and immigration advocates who have blasted the Biden administration for engaging in negotiations at all.

"We are deeply concerned that the President would consider advancing Trump-era immigration policies that Democrats fought so hard against — and that he himself campaigned against — in exchange for aid to our allies that Republicans already support," Sen. Alex Padilla and Rep. Nannette Barragán, both Democrats from California, said in a joint statement Monday.

Asked for a response to the lawmakers' concerns, Murphy said they're aiming to find a deal that reflects both sides' priorities.

"We have to get a lot of Democratic votes and a lot of Republican votes to pass this," he said. "And that means making sure things are fair."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Border, Ukraine deal getting closer as Congress runs short on time