Schumer Introduces Renewed Border Push

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said last week that he would reintroduce a proposed border plan after it was rejected by Congress earlier this year. The effort coincides with significant public support for stronger border measures.

Schumer wrote in a letter Sunday that he would seek to pass a “bipartisan agreement on a comprehensive border security package.”

He said that the proposed plan would overhaul the nation’s asylum laws, as well as hiring “thousands of new border agents.” He also claimed that the bill would invest in “cutting edge technology to stop the flow of fentanyl.”

The Senate Majority Leader added that the original bill was effectively stopped by former President Donald Trump.

The effort was quickly criticized by congressional Republicans.

“The fake border bill will fail, again, because it does nothing to seriously secure the border—just cement outrageous levels of illegal immigration,” said Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT).

The fake border bill will fail, again, because it does nothing to seriously secure the border—just cement outrageous levels of illegal immigration.

Ironically, some Democrats will vote against it, because even pretending to limit illegal immigration is a step too far for them. https://t.co/3oNcdBqv0R

— Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) May 19, 2024

“Ironically, some Democrats will vote against it, because even pretending to limit illegal immigration is a step too far for them,” he said.

The border has been a major policy subject in recent weeks. Former President Donald Trump said that he would plan mass deportations if he was elected to a second term.

The calls were echoed by Florida Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) over the weekend. The potential vice presidential candidate said that there could be tens of millions of deportations.

“We cannot absorb 25, 30 million people who entered this country illegally. What country on earth would tolerate that? We don’t even know who most of these people are,” he said.

“They’re talking about vetting them, vet what? They’re coming with nations that don’t have document systems. Unfortunately, we’ll have to do something dramatic to remove people from this country that are here illegally, especially people we know nothing about, and 10 million, 11 million was the number 15 years ago,” Rubio said.

The senator added his estimate that there could be as many as 30 million illegal immigrants in the country.