Despite optimism over the weekend about the release of legislative text for a potential border security package, a release is not expected this week, a source close to the bipartisan Senate negotiations told Fox News.
The source added that there are “thousands of little things that need to be worked out.”
Although no statement has been forthcoming, Fox was told that the talks have not lost momentum, and that negotiators are satisfied with where things stand.
The Texas National Guard takes security measures as hundreds of migrants try to reach the US border to seek humanitarian asylum in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico on January 02, 2024. (David Peinado/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Senators recognize the need to send more aid to Israel and Ukraine. There are also concerns that any clash with government finances later this month could undermine such talks.
The source told Fox News that government funding “takes precedence” and has a “hard deadline.”
Mexican President requests $20 billion worth of work permits for 10 million Hispanics in exchange for immigration assistance.
Negotiators are expected to speak at Senate Democratic and Republican lunches tomorrow about the status of the talks.
The Biden administration has been directly involved in the talks as the president tries to secure support for a top foreign policy priority — funding Ukraine's defense against Russia — and show action on potential political weakness — his handling of the historic number of migrants seeking asylum at the U.S. border with Mexico.
FILE: A U.S. Border Patrol agent leads a line of women to a pickup truck as they wait to apply for asylum between two border walls Thursday, May 11, 2023, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Paul)
Biden has faced stiff resistance from conservatives to his request for $110 billion for a wartime aid package for Ukraine and Israel as well as other national security priorities. In the Senate, Republicans demanded that the funding be coupled with border security changes.
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But in the House, conservatives have criticized any proposals that fall short of the tough border measures they passed on a party-line vote last year. Some House members aligned with Donald Trump, the former president and current Republican presidential nominee, have indicated they would not support any bipartisan proposal — regardless of its content — if it meant giving Biden a borders bill to sign in an election year.
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