Republicans criticize Senate Democrats’ border legislation proposal

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., on Monday said a bill that Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., proposed would actually worsen the situation at the U.S. southern border. Schumer characterized the bill as a previously bipartisan piece of legislation that Republicans had abandoned after former President Donald Trump told them to do so.

Johnson said that the bill would merely codify many of what he characterized as the failed open border policies enacted by the Biden administration. He accused Schumer of bringing it back for a vote solely to provide cover for vulnerable members of his party.

What is this bill, and what does it do? The legislation, originally introduced as part of a National Security Supplemental earlier this year, overhauls the U.S. asylum processing system. It also grants Biden increased authority to close the border, authorizes new technologies to stop the flow of fentanyl into the United States, and hires thousands of new border agents, according to Schumer.

Is Johnson proposing an alternative? Johnson suggested that the Senate work to pass H.R. 2, or the Secure the Border Act. The bill, which Johnson said has been sitting on Schumer’s desk for more than a year, would resume construction of a border wall between the United States and Mexico, reinstate a remain-in-Mexico policy for those waiting for approval on asylum requests, and end so-called catch-and-release policies allowing illegal immigrants to remain in the United States after encountering law enforcement authorities.

What else is going on with the border? On Monday, Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, posted on social media a letter sent to U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Friday. The letter requested that the Department of Homeland Security publicize information about possible terrorists discovered crossing the southern border—information he said the American public deserved to have.

Dig deeper: Read Carolina Lumetta’s report in The Stew from last month addressing whether foreign nationals are voting in U.S. elections.