McCarthy calls for action after US House passes Republican bill tightening border security
The US House of Representatives on Thursday approved Republican legislation intended to stop immigrants and illegal drugs crossing the nation's southwestern border with Mexico, leaving it to the Senate to attempt a broader, bipartisan immigration bill.
The package, which Democrats have warned will be blocked in the Senate, would set tight limits on asylum seekers and require them to apply for US protection outside the country. It also would resume the construction of a wall along the border and expand federal law enforcement efforts.
The House voted 219-213 to pass the bill, with no Democrats in favour and one Republican opposed.
The vote occurred in anticipation of the Thursday midnight expiration of the Title 42 immigration restriction that began under former President Donald Trump in 2020 at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. It has allowed US authorities to expel migrants to Mexico without the chance to seek asylum, citing health concerns.
Officials at the southwestern border were seeing large influxes of immigrants in the final days of Title 42 expiration.
While the House bill is not expected to get to President Joe Biden's desk for signing into law, there are hopes in the Senate that it will spark negotiations for a bipartisan, comprehensive border security and immigration reform measure in the coming months.
Independent Senator Krysten Sinema told reporters hours before the House vote that the Republican bill would open the way to shaping a "final package" to address not only border security but also reforms to the US asylum system and how visas are doled out.
Over the past three decades, meaningful immigration reforms have been unsuccessful in Congress. As Biden gears up for re-election next year, the large numbers of people seeking asylum in the United States have raised voter awareness.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll released this week found 54% of respondents, including 77% of Republicans and 34% of Democrats, opposed opening the border to more immigrants every year, and only 26% said they approved of Biden's handling of immigration.
But even within the Republican Party, there are some divisions over immigration policy.
House Republican leaders, at the last minute, had to modify provisions of their bill for the US agriculture industry to comply with "E-Verify" requirements for confirming US employment eligibility. Some Republican lawmakers worried a previous version would have made hiring immigrant farm workers too cumbersome.
Reuters
