Category: Immigration

The “bipartisan” Senate border bill has been released. It includes whopping amounts of funding for Ukraine ($60bn+), Israel ($14bn+), and billions for “humanitarian assistance” around the world. Little, however, is delivered for actual U.S. border security in the $120bn+ bill, which also includes much in the way of assisting more migrants into the United States.

The bill appears to “provide work authorization for an individual who is determined to be a child,” as well as lowering the restrictions in place for the hiring of new border enforcement agents and asylum processors. The bill would, for instance, remove polygraph screening for new candidates, as well as pay asylum handlers 15 percent extra.

In addition to helping fund Ukraine’s private sector and police force, the bill also limits for how long the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security may declare a border emergency, granting the President authority to end said emergency declaration. Additionally, the bill would grant automatic work authorizations for foreign fiancées, spouses, or children of either U.S. citizens or H-1B visa holders, which is likely to cause a further explosion in migration numbers.

The bill also authorizes a further 250,000 immigrant visas for the next five fiscal years.

The 370-page document will now be scrutinized by lawmakers with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer hinting at a Wednesday vote. A summary of the bill follows.

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE:

• $48.43 billion for Ukraine, plus:
  • $19.85 billion for U.S. military weapons and equipment;
  • $13.8 billion for the purchase of weapons and munitions from the U.S.;
  • $14.8 billion for “military training, intelligence sharing, increased presence, and other support activities.”
• Assistance to Israel and U.S. operations in the Middle East, including:
  • $10.6 billion for Israel, including $4 billion for Israeli missile defense and $1.2 billion for Iron Beam missile defense;
  • $2.44 billion to support U.S. operations in the Red Sea;
• $2.58 billion for Indo-Pacific China deterrence, including:
  • $1.9 billion for U.S. weapons to Taiwan;
  • $542.2 million for Indo-Pacific Command’s unfunded requirements;
  • $133 million for cruise missile components;
• $3.3 billion for submarine dry dock construction;
• $5.4 billion for artillery and air defense.

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY:

• $98 million for the development and production of isotopes;
• $149 million for the National Nuclear Security Administration for Ukraine activity;
• $2.72 billion to boost nuclear fuel production.

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY:

• $400 million for non-governmental Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grants;
• $33 million for monitoring, analyzing, public reporting on, and projecting migration flows.

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES:

• $2.334 billion for refugees;
• $350 million for the legal bills of unaccompanied minors.

DEPARTMENT OF STATE AND USAID:

• $299 million for U.S. diplomatic facilities in Ukraine, Israel, and other “at-risk facilities”;
• $7.85 billion budget support for Ukraine, including a prohibition on reimbursement of pensions, and $1.58 billion for the Ukrainian private sector;
• $25 million to support “recovery and resilience efforts in Ukrainian territory reclaimed from Russia and in Moldova, and $50 million to respond to food insecurity, including as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine”;
• $1.6 billion in foreign military financing to address Ukraine and other regional partners’ air defense, artillery, maritime security, and maintenance and sustainment requirements; $300 million to help Ukraine protect its borders and promote the rule of law; and $100 million to support demining, counterterrorism and nonproliferation programs;
• $3.5 billion in foreign military financing for Israel;
• $85 million for Arab states to “enhance counterterrorism”;
• $2 billion for “the world’s poorest countries to mitigate the economic impacts of Russia’s war against Ukraine and the exploitation of heightened debt vulnerabilities by the People’s Republic of China”;
• $9.2 billion for food, shelter, and basic services to Ukraine, Gaza, the West Bank, East Africa, South Asia, and elsewhere;
• $415 million to “reduce irregular migration in the Western Hemisphere” by giving money to developing nations.

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE:

• $440 million for additional immigration judge teams;
• $11.8 million to combat human trafficking and smuggling;
• $210 million for housing, medical, and transportation requirements for criminals.

FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION: