White House open to new asylum limits in order to secure aid for Israel & Ukraine: Source

WASHINGTON - The Biden administration is considering getting behind new restrictions on who can seek asylum in the United States and an expanded deportation processes to secure new aid for Ukraine and Israel in a supplemental funding bill, a source familiar with discussions said.

The White House and US Congress are racing to strike a deal that would deliver military aid to its two allies while discouraging illegal immigration across the US-Mexico border with only a week until lawmakers depart for a Christmas break.

Republicans have refused to approve more funding for Ukraine without additional measures to reduce the record number of migrants attempting to cross the US border illegally, leading to a complex negotiation pairing the largely unrelated issues.

President Joe Biden, a Democrat seeking reelection in 2024, on Dec 6 said he would be willing to make significant concessions on border security as Senate Republicans rejected a Democratic aid package with US$20 billion in border funding.

The White House would be open to heightening the standard for initial asylum screenings, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters, requesting anonymity to discuss the talks.

The Biden administration also would entertain some form of a “safe third country” provision that would deny asylum to migrants who pass through another country en route to the US, the source said.

Another possible point of agreement could be expanding a fast-track deportation process known as “expedited removal”. The authority would be employed nationwide instead of its current application at the border, the source said.

A bipartisan group of senators trying to reach a deal are also discussing a numerical limitation on asylum claims, the source said. The Biden administration position on such a cap remains unclear.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

The Republican-led House of Representatives is scheduled to wrap up work for the year by Dec 14, leaving a tight window to pass legislation. The Democratic-led Senate faces a similar timeline.

With that in mind, the goal seems more to strike a top-line deal and perhaps work on the exact details of the legislative text over the break, sources said.

Democratic Senator Chris Coons on Dec 7 said the gap between his party and Republicans remains “stubbornly large” but that he remains optimistic they can find common ground.

White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre criticised Republicans during a press briefing on Dec 7.

“They are playing chicken with our national security,” she said. “History will remember them harshly.”

Republican Senator Thom Tillis, part of the bipartisan group trying to hash out a border security compromise, told reporters on Dec 6 that any proposal would have to cut illegal immigration at least by half and that he did not know if a deal could be reached before Christmas.

“We’ve got a lot more work to do,” he said. REUTERS