Senate announces details of border security-Ukraine aid deal

Feb. 4 (UPI) -- The U.S. Senate on Sunday announced details of a much anticipated $118 billion deal to tighten security at the U.S.-Mexico border while offering aid to war-ravaged Ukraine.

The bill calls for $60 billion to support Ukraine in its war against Russia, $14.1 billion in security assistance for Israel and $20.23 billion for operational needs and capabilities at the border, according to the Senate Appropriations Committee. It's $14 billion higher than President Joe Biden initially proposed for border security.

But Biden has largely come under criticism for his administration's immigration policy, which has largely been seen as ineffective and lax as record numbers of migrants have tried to cross the border illegally.

The state of Texas even took the bold step of seizing control of 50-acre Shelby Park, a city-owned park in Eagle Pass, that has been a hotspot for migrants attempting to cross into the United States illegally by wading through the Rio Grande River.

Eagle Pass has been in the national spotlight and it is seen as a rallying point for Republicans unhappy with Biden's border policies. Taking control of the park was seen as a high-profile move in Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's efforts to slow the tide of illegal immigration, essentially thumbing his nose at U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers, who were effectively shut out of the park by the state.

Abbott ordered the installation of buoys topped with razor wire across the stretch of the river frequented by migrants. A court mandated the wire be removed.

The proposed legislation announced Sunday also calls for new border policies -- an amount that rises above the $14 billion Biden initially requested for border security.

The measure calls for efforts to reduce the number of illegal crossers at the southern border, a move that was widely seen as a concession by Biden to win Republican votes for additional aid to Ukraine, which has been battling a Russian invasion since February 2022.

A vote on the border deal could come as soon as this week.

The Biden administration has long warned that Ukraine would run out of U.S.-backed weaponry, and in October he unveiled a supplemental national security bill that included billions for Ukraine, Israel and the border but received staunch pushback from Republicans who said it didn't go far enough on border policies.

Biden produced a second version in December, with hopes it would be passed before the holiday recess, but to no avail.

The House has said it could vote on a standalone funding bill for aid to Israel this week.

The compromise announced Sunday would strictly limit the number of crossers at the southern border and curtail asylum at the U.S.-Mexico line, a break with decades-long protocol.

It would grant the Department of Homeland Security the authority to up security at the border if daily average migrant crossings reach 4,000 during a week.

Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called the agreement "a monumental step towards strengthening America's national security abroad and along our border."

"The priorities in this bill are too important to ignore and too vital to allow politics to get in the way," he said in a statement.

Former President Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., have attacked the border deal as too weak, and their opposition threatens to derail the legislation.

On Sunday night, Johnson vowed that if the bill reaches his Congressional branch, "it will be dead on arrival."

"I've seen enough," he said in a statement on X. "This bill is even worse than we expected, and won't come close to ending the border catastrophe the president has created."

Trump has been lobbying Republicans to oppose the deal, which could be due in part to the fact that border security is a central campaign issue for him.

The details of the bill have been hashed out by a trio of Senators, including Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma, one of the chamber's most conservative Republicans.

Passing the measure would also give Biden a victory in an area where he is seen as vulnerable going into the teeth of the presidential campaign.