Senate negotiators released their proposal for a border policy and foreign aid package yesterday, and U.S. Senator Bob Menendez is already making clear that he strongly opposes it, calling the deal “unacceptable” and chastising Senate leaders for not giving members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus more input.
“Accepting this deal as written would be an outright betrayal to the communities we have sworn an oath to protect and represent,” Menendez said last night in a statement. “If these changes were being considered under Trump, Democrats would be in outrage, but because we want to win an election Latinos and immigrants now find themselves on the altar of sacrifice.”
The bipartisan deal, which has been in the works for months, would make several conservative changes to the United States’ immigration laws, including making it harder for migrants to seek asylum and automatically shutting down the border if border crossings reach a certain monthly level. It would also send a combined $84 billion in aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan, something many members of both parties have wanted to do for a long time.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is expected to begin the process for approving the bill this week, with at least 60 senators needed for passage – and Menendez is sounding like he’s a hard no on the deal as currently written.
“[Senate leaders] expect us to fall in line on a deal that directly impacts millions within our communities and will forever reshape America’s immigration system,” he said. “All of this, without providing any meaningful opportunity for input from those of us who know best the pulse of our immigrant communities.”
It’s less clear where New Jersey’s other senator, Cory Booker, stands on the proposal. Booker joined Menendez in criticizing the prospective deal last December, but he has not been as vociferous in speaking out against it since then (and has in general focused less heavily on immigration issues during his tenure in the Senate).
Regardless, though, even if the bill does advance through the Senate, it may be a moot point in the Republican-controlled House. House Speaker Mike Johnson said yesterday evening that the Senate’s deal is “even worse than we expected” and “dead on arrival” if it makes it to the House, arguing that it does not do enough to increase border security.