Senate Republicans have voted against advancing the bipartisan border security deal despite warnings from Democrats.
The bill, part of a $118 billion national security supplemental package, includes $60 billion for Ukraine; $14 billion in security assistance for Israel; and $10 billion in humanitarian aid for civilians in Gaza, the West Bank and Ukraine. The bill also aims to invest $20.2 billion in improving border security, providing $6.8 billion to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, $7.6 billion to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and $4 billion to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. (Related: Health Ranger Report: Wars create mass migrations, sending refugees pouring into U.S.’s open borders.)
In other words, the bill aims to impose stricter immigration and asylum laws while providing foreign aid to Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan.
During an interview with host Mika Brzezinski on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" on Feb. 5, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) warned that if the Open Borders bill fails to pass in the Senate, the U.S. might end up in a land war with Russia in Europe. He also suggested that the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war is essentially a war involving both Russia and the United States.
"We’re at a turning point in America. This bill is crucial, and history will look back on it and say, 'Did America fail itself’?' Why is it crucial? Well, if we don’t aid Ukraine, Putin will... walk all over Ukraine, we will lose the war, and we could be fighting in Eastern Europe [as] a NATO ally in a few years [sic]. Americans won't like that," Schumer told Brzezinski.
Schumer acknowledged the challenges of securing support from Republican senators, particularly those aligned with the right-wing Trump faction, but remained hopeful.
"I'm confident – 'hopeful' is the right word. This is hard. And our Republican senators – we need a bunch of them – are under a lot of pressure from [the] right-wing Trump part of the party."
Most members of the Senate GOP conference, including Senators Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) voted against the bill, except Senators Susan Collins (Maine), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), James Lankford (Okla.) and Mitt Romney (Utah). Other Democratic senators, namely Ed Markey (Mass.), Bob Menendez (N.J.), Alex Padilla (Calif.) and Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), as well as Independent Bernie Sanders, also joined in voting against the motion.
Schumer, employing a procedural tactic, switched his vote to "no" at the end of the vote to allow him to offer a motion to reconsider.
Border security deal immediately faced backlash from Republicans
Shortly after the negotiators revealed the details of the deal on Feb. 4, it faced an immediate backlash from Republicans. Former President Donald Trump, who took his sentiments to Truth Social, urged Republicans to vote against the deal.
"Only a fool, or a Radical Left Democrat, would vote for this horrendous Border Bill. It takes the HORRIBLE JOB the Democrats have done on Immigration and the Border, absolves them, and puts it all squarely on the shoulders of Republicans. Don’t be STUPID!!! We need a separate Border and Immigration Bill. It should not be tied to foreign aid in any way, shape, or form! The Democrats broke Immigration and the Border. They should fix it," Trump posted.
Meanwhile, Speaker Mike Johnson posted on X that if ever the bill came out of the Senate, it would be "dead on arrival" in the House. Johnson and other House Republicans said the bill fails in key policy areas needed to secure the border and could incentivize more illegal immigration.
In a press conference, Cruz also explained to the public that the bill failed to address the root problems of the border crisis.
"Why is this bill a terrible bill? Because it does not solve the problem. This bill was designed not to secure the border. Instead, this bill codified Joe Biden's open borders," he said.
