2024 Border Legislation

[Grace]

By obstructing legislation in Congress, Trump has given Biden a ready-made explanation and answer to anything Trump now says on immigration. Sometimes it is a case of be careful what you ask for. Time will tell if Biden can now lay this issue squarely in the lap of Republicans.

Biden and his water carrying media will certainly attempt to lay the border issue at the Republicans feet. But people remember. And the remember that Biden inherited the lowest illegal immigration when he took office. In the last three years they saw the border overrun, their cities invaded, increase of crime in their cities from illegal migrants, etc. This bill was better than nothing, but it still was an" immigration bill", not a "border security bill".

[Josh]

It does nothing of the sort.

And defense funding for Ukraine and Israel is a tiny fraction of what the Pentagon spends every year on defense. Plus, the budget for Homeland Security is already over $100 billion. This is just supplemental money for things like hiring more immigration agents and asylum officers. And changes in the law to more efficiently process and expel asylum seekers.

In fact, most of the proposed spending for Ukraine is actually dollars spent in the US. All the weapons and ammunition that would be included are things built by American workers in American factories. The money never leaves the US, it is just the finished products that are shipped overseas.
Should the money be spent on other things like schools and hospitals? Perhaps. But that is a different question.

As a general rule, I am opposed to increased spending on munitions, particularly munitions that will be shipped overseas to active conflict zones and used to have more war with more bombs going off, missiles being fired, artillery shells shot, and so forth.

That would actually be my primary opposition to this bill.

[Grace]

So it's all Biden's fault...? I assume this is being channeled from the right of center mainstream media... Looks like deflection to me..., considering what the GOP has done/not done in the past and in the present, especially the last week or so...
In response to the framing attempt, which is probably a copy of your media's framing (I welcome your correction if your media diet is not pushing this) - but What about the migrant caravan(s) 'invading' during the Trump presidency? Immigration, including lots of crossings, etc, same as now! was happening then too. (Why did Trump admin do the drastic family separation scheme if they weren't trying to deal with some big problem!) How does that square with the attempt to frame this as Trump in office = less immigration problems or fixed vs Biden in office = immigration disaster?

Trump's policies weren't perfect, and people still came. But, yes, it is largely Biden's fault and it is a disaster.

From 2014 to 2018, the largest number of illegals apprehended by the Border Patrol apprehend between the ports of entry was 479,371 in 2014. In 2019, it rose to 851,508; but, in 2020, it fell back to 400,651.

From January 2020 when Biden took office, to January 2021, the Border Patrol, encountered a total of 2,112,458 trying to illegally enter our country through the southern border.

That means the Border Patrol encountered more people trying to illegally cross the southern border in one year, under Biden, than it did through the entirety of Trump’s presidency.

And those stats are from 2022. Now it is over 7 million.

[Ken]

James Langford, the Republican Senator who was leading the 2024 Bipartisan border legislation today says that Fox News promised to try and destroy him because they don't want the issue solved during an election year. Yes, he is referring to Fox News here.

These are not serious or patriotic people.

[Josh]

I agree than Lankford is neither serious nor patriotic.

A bill proposing $100 billion more in spending on foreign aids is also neither serious nor patriotic.

[Ken]

By obstructing legislation in Congress, Trump has given Biden a ready-made explanation and answer to anything Trump now says on immigration. Sometimes it is a case of be careful what you ask for. Time will tell if Biden can now lay this issue squarely in the lap of Republicans.

Biden and his water carrying media will certainly attempt to lay the border issue at the Republicans feet. But people remember. And the remember that Biden inherited the lowest illegal immigration when he took office. In the last three years they saw the border overrun, their cities invaded, increase of crime in their cities from illegal migrants, etc. This bill was better than nothing, but it still was an" immigration bill", not a "border security bill".

Biden inherited the worst unemployment rate in 40 years along with that low immigration rate. Job loss under Trump was the greatest in half a century.

You do realize it is all connected don't you?

We can go back to the Trump economy and immigration will drop right off as if by magic.

[Josh]

Ken, any reasonable analysis would look at the situation up through Jan. 2020, unless you’re going to tell us Covid is Trump’s fault now too.

[Szdfan]

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/07/us/p ... =url-share

Other Republicans appeared to be stuck in an endless loop, continuing to demand border changes — only hours after voting to tank the aid package that contained them. Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, was demanding the chance to add back border provisions. Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina told Fox News he would oppose the stand-alone foreign aid bill because “we should first secure our southern border.”

After 7 p.m., Mr. Schumer said the Senate was recessing to “give our Republican colleagues the night to figure themselves out.”

1. Republicans demand that aid to Ukraine and Israel is contingent on passing border legislation.
2. Democrats concede and negotiate a border bill with Republicans that gives them a lot of what they want.
3. Republicans tank the border bill.
4. Democrats try to pass funding for Ukraine and Israel without any border changes.
5. Republicans demand to add border legislation back in.

Wash, rinse, repeat.

“Republicans have said they can’t pass Ukraine without border. Now they say they can’t pass Ukraine with border. Today, I’m giving them a choice,” Mr. Schumer said on the Senate floor on Wednesday before the back-to-back votes. He added, “I urge Republicans to take yes for an answer.”

[Josh]

Szdfan,

Do you support spending $100 billion on arms and other military aid to Ukraine and Israel?

[Szdfan]

Szdfan,

Do you support spending $100 billion on arms and other military aid to Ukraine and Israel?

The reason the Republicans tanked the border bill had nothing to do with opposition to military aid to Ukraine and Israel. They insisted that these two things get tied together in order to get what they wanted. They got a lot of what they wanted and then turned around and tanked it because Donald Trump wants to use the border as a campaign point.