President Joe Biden and his administration are preparing to potentially compromise with House Republicans on border issues in exchange for more funding for Ukraine, according to Politico, which spoke to four people familiar with the discussions.
After the White House introduced a funding package totaling over $105 billion, Ukraine, Israel and the border, House Republicans put forth their own stand-alone package that would provide aid to Israel and make cuts to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). In recent weeks, officials from the White House and Department of Homeland Security have considered doing more asylum reform to appease House Republicans to get their package through, four people familiar with the talks told Politico. (RELATED: KJP Claims Biden Has Done ‘More’ For The Border Than Anyone Else)
The White House’s current openness to such asylum reform “was a huge substantive risk, and political one,” a former administration official familiar with the discussions told Politico.
“It could get ugly,” the former official told the outlet.
House Republicans passed their package on Thursday, 226 to 196, which would give funds to the Department of Defense to replace equipment that had been given to Israel as military aid during their war with the terrorist organization Hamas. The bill would be funded by cuts made to the IRS budget.
Administration officials have privately discussed the asylum reform that could cause fewer migrants to hit the credible fear threshold, which would then result in more being denied the opportunity to apply for asylum, Politico reported.
The change could cause backlash from Democrats. Some are expecting criticism if the White House moves forward with the plan without making progress on other initiatives such as the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, one person familiar with the talks told Politico.
US President Joe Biden speaks with US Customs and Border Protection officers as he visits the US-Mexico border in El Paso, Texas, on January 8, 2023. (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)
While the White House and House Republicans work to get their funding packages through, mayors from Chicago, Denver, Houston and Los Angeles met with Tom Perez, the director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, to ask for more funds to handle the migrant crisis that has overrun their cities. The Democratic mayors, including New York City Mayor Eric Adams, demanded an “urgent” meeting Biden, even offering to come to D.C. the following week to discuss the crisis that has left the cities without the resources needed to provide for the influx in migrants, the New York Post reported.
“It’s pretty hard to ignore when both parties in Congress, the White House and mayors from major cities all agree that there needs to be resources and changes with regard to how we manage migration,” a former administration official told Politico.
“But where it quickly breaks down is what does that look like? And what are the specific policy changes?” the official continued.