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A dead border security bill and Democrats' strategy to blame Republicans for the immigration crisis

Senator Schumer tried to revive a bill that had no future in either the Senate or the House.

Las boyas en la frontera de Texas | Archivo

A floating barrier is deployed in the middle of the Rio Grande which forms the US-Mexico border at Eagle Pass, Texas, on December 23, 2023 / CHANDAN KHANNA / AFP

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This Thursday, the Senate voted on a border security bill that had already been presented at the beginning of this year and had not received the necessary votes. As expected, he did not obtain the required 60 votes; instead, what he achieved was a resounding rejection from the entire Republican bench. The question many are asking is why the leader of the Democratic majority, Senator Chuck Schumer, tried to revive a bill that had no future in either the Senate or the House.

Since this project came to light, Republicans have given different reasons for their vote against it. They have assured that it does not solve the situation at the border but only allocates more resources to address the current flow. Some, like Senator Ted Cruz, have stated that this proposal even worsens the situation because it normalizes the high number of migrants crossing the southern border at this time. They have also highlighted that President Biden has eliminated many of the policies imposed by former President Donald Trump that kept the border secure.

This package of border reforms was initially presented as a bipartisan bill. However, although a couple of Republicans participated in its development, the Republican majority rejected the proposal from the first moment and said that there was no possibility of giving their vote. This Thursday, in its second vote, the bill did not even have the support of Republican Senator James Lankford, who was one of its creators. The vote was 43-50, with six Democratic senators joining Republicans to block it.

Although the leader of the Democratic majority in the Senate was clear that this project would not go ahead, the fact of bringing it to a vote allowed him to stand in front of the media and tell Americans that his party tried to solve the immigration problem by presenting a bill, but the Republicans did not want to approve it. After more than three years in the White House, avoiding the border problem, and even taking measures that encourage migration, just a few months before the elections, the Democrats shamelessly dare to blame the Republicans for the disaster on the border.

"The contrast between Democrats and Republicans is clear today and will be even clearer in November. Democrats want to fix the border and get something done. Republicans want to give speeches, let the border fester and do absolutely nothing to fix the problem," Senator Schumer said after the long-awaited vote.

Faced with the growing disapproval of Biden's immigration policies, Senate Democrats today tried to exonerate the Administration using a vote that had no future and a bill that Republicans have spent months explaining why it does not work. But in addition to drawing attention to the Democrats' political move, Americans need to ask themselves why the Biden administration allows such a disaster on the border when it represents a threat to national security, as the director of the FBI mentioned.

The answer to this issue has been addressed very clearly by House Speaker, Republican Mike Johnson: Why would they do this? It's such a catastrophe for the country. Why would the president knowingly allow this? Because they wanted to turn these people into voters. That's plain. And they want to change the outcome of the census in six years. It sounds sinister, and it is, and they've exacted untold damage on the country.

At the same time we see unprecedented illegal migration, we see attempts by Democrats to change voting laws and to allow for nonsensical issues, like giving the right to vote to people who are not American citizens. It is true that this country needs immigration reform and that millions of people could contribute to the economy, and there should be an easier path to citizenship, but it must be according to the law. The meaningless proposals of many Democrats do not contribute to the country or to migrants and only try to obtain political benefit for a party that sees how its votes are decreasing among key groups such as Hispanics.

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