Democrats Clash Over Move to Add Asylum Changes to War Funding Bill

A bipartisan group of senators has agreed that a spending package for Israel and Ukraine should include a measure making it more difficult to be granted asylum in the United States, according to senators involved in the talks, but is deadlocked on more sweeping immigration changes that Republicans have demanded.

Progressive and Hispanic Democrats are enraged about the emerging agreement to try to reduce migrant flows into the United States by raising the threshold for asylum claims. It is not clear whether the idea will survive an intensive round of negotiations to finalize the national security spending measure, which could reach the Senate floor as soon as next week.

But the fact that senators in both parties are coalescing around the move — and that the Biden administration has signaled openness to it — highlights the political potency of concerns about the southern border. Republicans have sought to weaponize the issue against President Biden and his party, and with polls showing voters deeply critical of the president’s border policies, he and many other Democrats are eager to insulate themselves.

The emerging consensus to change asylum policy has alarmed liberals on Capitol Hill, particularly Latino lawmakers, who have privately expressed their grave concerns to both administration officials and Senate leaders.