'Not ‘no,’ this is ‘not now': Texas GOP congressional delegation stands against border bill

WASHINGTON — Texas Republican lawmakers in Congress, who represent a state with the most to win from a hard-nosed U.S. border package, stood firmly against a bipartisan deal that was blocked Wednesday by a 50-49 Senate vote and left on life support in a pivotal procedural decision.

The Senate GOP leadership, which had championed the border deal, stepped back from pushing the $20 billion package, which makes up part of a larger $118 billion national security bill that includes aid to Israel and Ukraine, after it became clear conservative lawmakers did not think the legislation, which would revamp U.S. border and immigration policies, went far enough and that former President Donald Trump, the likely GOP nominee for president this year, was against the proposal.

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who as a high-profile border state senator had been monitoring the monthslong negotiations, voted against the bill, as did U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. Both Texas senators have endorsed Trump for president.

“This proposal is not what the country needs, wants or deserves,” Cornyn said Tuesday in a speech on the Senate floor.

“The biggest concern I have is the parole powers that — to release people in the interior — has been unchanged in the bill,” he told reporters. The bill does not restrict the Biden administration’s humanitarian parole policy, which has become a lightning rod for criticism from the right for letting in large numbers of migrants from a few select countries.

“It’s going to continue to be a huge magnet for mass migration, so it doesn't really solve the problem,” said Cornyn.

He said of Wednesday’s vote, "This is not ‘no’; this is ‘not now,’" adding that senators should go back to the drawing board. “We need a major policy shift, not a fig leaf,” Cornyn said.

Cruz took a more combative tone, blaming the deal on Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., for not delivering on GOP policy or politics.

"The Senate border deal is a failure on two fronts,” Cruz said on X, formerly Twitter. “It codifies catch and release, gives billions to NGOs, and normalizes 1.8M illegal aliens yearly. And secondly, every Democrat will say they tried to get a deal but the cruel Republicans blocked it.” Cruz even called for McConnell to step down from his leadership post because of the border deal.

Asked about Cruz's remarks, McConnell, at a leadership news conference, said, “I think we can all agree that Mr. Cruz is not a fan.”

Cruz was one of 10 senators who did not vote for McConnell in 2022, when the Senate GOP last chose its leaders. The next leadership election will be held after the Nov. 5 general election.

The Senate border bill is designed to stem the flow of immigrants by myriad methods, including hiring thousands of border control agents; streamlining visa and asylum processes; and creating new emergency powers to remove migrants crossing between legal ports of entry — authority that would be used when unauthorized border crossings reach 5,000 a day.

The bill's opponents have been encouraged by Trump, who said that approving the legislation would hand Democrats and President Joe Biden a victory during an election year. Biden, the likely Democratic nominee for president, is seeking reelection and would face a rematch against Trump this year if the former president clinches the GOP's nomination.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has said the bill was “dead on arrival” if it advanced to the lower chamber.

Cruz said, “There is a 0% chance this failed border bill will pass the House. It effectively normalizes 5,000 illegal aliens crossing the border per day — more than 1.8 million per year. This is not a real solution. It is all about political messaging.”

It is a message that Cruz, who is up for reelection to a third term in November, is likely to hear on the campaign trail.

U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, D-Dallas, who is the front-runner in the Democratic primary to challenge Cruz, said: “Our immigration system is broken, and Texas needs action. For too long politicians have prioritized political stunts and talking points over real results.”

U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, said in a statement to the American-Statesman: “Once again Republicans are blindly following Trump to reject any legislative response, regardless of what it contains. Chaos may benefit Trump, but it hurts our families. Defeating Trump and his Republican enablers is the only way to achieve the broad, comprehensive immigration reform that our country has needed for decades.”

U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin, who as a member of the House Committee on Homeland Security has helped lead an impeachment effort against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas over the border crisis, said on Fox News’ Varney & Co.: “The Republicans in the House believe the president has enough executive authority to change the situation overnight (and) return to the policies of the prior administration — Trump — that were working, like 'Remain in Mexico.' That’s not in this bill.”

The Trump-era policy forced asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico for a hearing.

McCaul said there were “some good aspects” of the Senate border deal — he has long opposed “catch and release” of migrants into the U.S., which the proposal would terminate. “But the political asylum reforms are not adequate for House Republicans,” he said.

Another Austin-area lawmaker also opposes the bill — but from the left.

“Everyone agrees we should do something to improve conditions at the border. But this bill would make the current situation worse and more chaotic, instead of reforming our system to be more safe, orderly, and humane,” said U.S. Rep. Greg Casar, D-Austin. “As Democrats, we cannot accept Trump-era policies that hurt people, hurt our economy, and hurt the asylum process.

“If Senators actually want to reduce mass migration, we need to address the root causes and work with our global partners in Latin America to find long-term, compassionate solutions to the instability driving people out of their homes.”

U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Hays County, who has been one of the loudest voices in Congress agitating for border controls, said: “The Senate’s bill is an open-borders bargain — not border security. This bill is an endorsement of the status quo and Biden’s border chaos so they can give Ukraine another blank check.”

Senate GOP leaders tied the border reform package to national security funding for Ukraine and Israel to help ease the proposal’s approval.

Similarly, U.S. Rep. Mike Cloud, R-Victoria, is opposed to both the border security provisions and the funding for Ukraine.

“The so-called ‘border security bill’ coming out of the Senate is woefully insufficient, and I strongly oppose it. In fact, it can hardly be called a border security bill at all, as the bill sends three times more money to Ukraine than our own southern border. That is wrong,” he said.

Echoing his GOP colleagues, U.S. Rep. John Carter, R-Round Rock, said: "It's a bad deal. The House has already passed a strong border security bill in H.R. 2, but the Senate has ignored it and instead put forward something that normalizes the chaos Biden has caused at the border. We need to secure the border, and the Senate bill isn't how we do it."

U.S. Rep. Roger Williams, R-Willow Park, described the bill as a “raw deal" and said it was “amnesty for those who can get here first and fast and leaves our border wide open.”

“It shouldn’t receive one vote in the American Congress,” Williams said. “I will do everything I can to see it doesn’t pass.”

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Republican US senators from Texas vote down bipartisan border bill