First appearance on Fox: Sen. Rick Scott (R-Florida) has stepped up his opposition to a new border deal that officials expect as early as next week.
“James Lankford is smart, he’s a hard worker, he knows this issue. He’s on a suicide mission,” Scott told FOX News Digital. “So it’s very simple: If you can’t force Biden to secure the border, just close the border.”
“If we go back home, voters aren’t saying, ‘I want to secure the border next year.’ They’re saying, ‘I want to secure the border today.’ So they’re going to support something that can’t do that.” I don’t intend to,” he said.
Scott is part of a group of Senate Republicans who have voiced opposition to the so-called border deal (only the refugee-related parts are being considered by the Appropriations Committee) after details of the deal were leaked last week. is a member of
But House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) has already indicated that if the terms of the agreement are similar to what is being reported as a result of the negotiations, the agreement will be invalidated once it reaches the House. are doing.
Mr. Scott recently joined Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., in moving forward to bring the bill to a floor vote as soon as possible, along with Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-S.C. He said he recently spoke with the state of Kentucky.
It’s unclear when the final text of the bill will be released, but the White House is asking Prime Minister Johnson to give Biden “authority and funding” for border security. Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, has urged lawmakers to reject the deal.
The border deal could cost more than $14 billion, but Republican lawmakers are uneasy about the bill’s text.
Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), center, speaks during a press conference with members of the House Freedom Caucus at the U.S. Capitol on November 29, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
But Scott shifted the blame to party leaders, arguing that McConnell was disconnected from the majority of American voters.
“So what we’re scared of is being told, ‘You’ve got plenty of time,’ and then being told, ‘We’re going to vote this week.’ Well, give yourself a break, you haven’t read it yet,” he said. Said.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers, including Sens. James Lankford, Krysten Sinema and Chris Murphy, are in talks to forge a deal with White House officials to resolve the crisis at the southern border. has been going on for several months. The deal is expected to include additional spending, including billions of dollars in foreign aid to Ukraine and Israel.
The Biden administration is seeking more than $100 billion in funding, including $14 billion for border improvements. But Republicans are pushing for limits on releasing migrants into the interior, including the use of parole, and negotiators are trying to find a compromise.
“The bill needs to say there will be no more parole,” Scott said. “People are tired of open borders. How many terrorists are we okay with? How many human traffickers are we okay with? How many drug addicts, drug dealers, human traffickers are we okay with? Answers should be zero.”
Sources familiar with the proposal previously told FOX News Digital that the proposal, along with Title 42-style expulsion powers that would quickly remove immigrants at the border similar to COVID-19, would He said it would tighten the wording of the earlier credible fear standard. -Authority of the times. Sources said the exercise of that power would only be required in the following cases: 7 day moving average Over 5,000 encounters a day.
Biden vs. Johnson border standoff: experts disagree on who has authority to resolve crisis
Asylum-seeking migrants wait in line to receive donated food at a makeshift camp with a rainbow in the distance as they await processing by the U.S. Border Patrol in Jacumba Hot Springs, California, Nov. 30, 2023, in Jacumba Hot Springs, California. . (Tama Mario/Getty Images)
Discretionary evictions are allowed if the number of encounters per day is between 4,000 and 5,000, and if the number of encounters is 8,000 or more per day, even if the seven-day average is lower. He will be required to withdraw from school. These deportees are also exempt from judicial review.
The administration’s use of humanitarian parole at the border will also be limited, although migrants can still be released on parole if they cite humanitarian reasons. These restrictions include the Parole Program, which allows immigrants such as Afghans and Ukrainians to enter the country by air, and the Cuba Haitian, Nicaraguan, and Venezuelan (CHNV) Parole Program, which allows 30,000 immigrants to enter the country by air. ) are not expected to be included. He is being released on parole every month as part of the government’s “expansion of legal routes”.
FOX News’ Adam Shaw contributed to this report.
