by President Mike Johnson on Wednesday poured cold water on the idea of reaching an immigration deal with Democrats that could revive stalled legislation to send aid to Ukraine, hours before a meeting where President Biden planned give new impetus to the plan.
“I don’t think now is the time for comprehensive immigration reform because we know how complicated it is,” Johnson said Wednesday morning before an afternoon meeting at the White House. “You can’t do that quickly. “I think it’s time to secure the border.”
Johnson said he told Biden on Thursday during a 30-minute phone call that he was immersed in the matter and would give him the same message face-to-face later on Wednesday. Biden has summoned Johnson and other congressional leaders, as well as top lawmakers on the House Homeland Security Committee, in an urgent attempt to break a months-long impasse over military assistance to Ukraine and border security policies. which Republicans have insisted are a requirement of the aid.
“I’m going to tell the president what I tell all of you, what we’ve told the American people: border, border, border,” Johnson said. “We have to secure our own border before we talk about doing anything else. And that is the message I have received from day one.”
A group of Senate Republicans and Democrats, as well as Biden administration officials, have made substantial progress in recent weeks toward a compromise that would clamp down on migration at the southwest border and unlock support for a new round of money for Ukraine. But House Republicans have opposed the emerging deal, which has angered the party’s far-right base, arguing that a harsher crackdown is needed.
In yet another indication that they are in no mood to compromise, House Republican leaders have scheduled a vote for Wednesday. a resolution denouncing what they call Biden’s “open border policies” and asking him to put an end to them.
“The border is a catastrophe and it must be addressed,” Johnson said Wednesday. “You’ll see House Republicans standing up and fighting on that hill because it’s important to the country.”
The bipartisan group of senators agreed on measures to make it harder for migrants to seek asylum after crossing the border and expanded detention and removal powers. But negotiations have hit a roadblock over limiting parole authority, which the administration uses to allow some immigrants who tried to enter the United States illegally to stay in the country and work until their cases can be heard in a immigration court.
Johnson suggested that a border deal, even one that met all of Republicans’ demands, might not be enough to win their support for funding Ukraine’s war effort against Russia. He insisted that the administration provide other guarantees and accountability measures.
“What is the endgame and strategy in Ukraine? How are we going to account for the funds?” Mr. Johnson asked. “We need to know that Ukraine will not be another Afghanistan.”
