Illegal Border Crossings Today:

House Passes National Security Package without Border Security, Senate to Act Soon

U.S. Capitol dome with money in background

FAIR Take | April 2024

On Saturday afternoon, the House of Representatives passed a national security package including foreign aid funding for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.  The package notably failed to include any measures to secure our borders at home.  Passage followed months of Republican congressional leadership pledging not to act on funding for Ukraine without first passing strong border security legislation.  The $95 billion package moved forward with more Democrat than Republican support.

While the Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan aid bills were voted on separately in the House, they will be bundled together with a fourth bill that includes a potential ban on TikTok before being sent to the Senate.  House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Saturday also brought to the floor an amended version of the FAIR-supported H.R. 2, the Secure the Border Act, but refused to bundle that with the broader package.  Putting forward the border bill separately ensured the vote was largely symbolic, as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has refused for months to take up any serious, standalone border security legislation.  The border bill was also brought to the House floor under suspension of the rules, which requires a two-thirds vote for passage.  That move doomed the bill to failure given the lack of Democrat support—ultimately falling far short in a vote of 215-199.

Leading up to the vote on the national security package, many House Republicans continued to fight for border security.  The House Freedom Caucus (HFC) pushed back early, urging a no vote on a procedural rule necessary to begin debate. Following passage, HFC Member Chip Roy (R-Texas) released a statement criticizing the process. “For months, House Republicans — specifically, Speaker Mike Johnson — have been unequivocal that we would not send billions in additional aid to Ukraine without securing our own border first.  This package represents a complete reversal of a position that previously unified the Republican conference, despite the clear and present danger the southern border represents to U.S. national security.”

Speaker Johnson doubled down in response.  “I think providing lethal aid to Ukraine right now is critically important…To put it bluntly, I would rather send bullets to Ukraine than American boys.” He continued to say that while he wants the border to be considered in everything the House does, he simply does not have the votes. That position represents an about-face for Johnson, after referring to securing our border as the hill to die on in December. At that time, he issued a public letter in which he said, “[S]upplemental Ukraine funding is dependent upon enactment of transformative change to our nation’s border security laws.”

Fallout from Johnson’s failure to include border security measures in the foreign aid package is likely to be long-lasting in the House.  Some representatives have even said they want to remove him as speaker.  While Johnson claims he is not be concerned about a motion to vacate him from office, he has expressed some frustration, and reports circulated last week that he was considering options to block members from moving forward with that motion. Several House Republicans are openly considering it, with Congressman Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) saying last week that pressure is building to remove the speaker and referring it as inevitable. It is widely predicted that Democrats may bail Johnson out if he does face a motion to vacate.

The Democratic-controlled Senate is expected to act quickly to approve the national security package.  Senator Schumer was swift to praise Johnson for moving forward with the foreign aid funding, arguing that he was on the right side of history and calling it “a watershed moment for the defense of democracy.” Several Senate Republicans meanwhile expressed sharp disapproval. Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) asserted that the package betrayed any commitment to border security and left Americans at risk of harm, asking how many more Americans need to die before Congress acts.  Senator Eric Schmitt (R- Mo.) was similarly critical, writing that sending billions to Ukraine without securing our borders equates to putting America last. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell was supportive in the face of that criticism, though, saying in a statement that the funding is “an essential investment in American strength.” The first Senate procedural votes on the package are anticipated this Tuesday.

FAIR will continue to demand that Congress and the Biden Administration act to end the crisis at our borders.  The Biden Administration, for example, could immediately take a variety of actions to roll back its disastrous policies and reduce the tidal wave of illegal immigration the southern border, including reinstating the Migrant Protection Protocols; ceasing all unlawful parole programs; and detaining illegal aliens encountered rather than releasing them. What is certain, is that the status quo is unacceptable and cannot continue. Failure to act in the face of the crisis on our borders, and the impacts it is inflicting on American communities across the country, is unconscionable.