The labor union that represents US Customs and Border Protection agents on Monday gave soft support to a bipartisan immigration reform bill crafted by White House and Senate negotiators, calling it “not perfect” but “much better” than passing nothing at all. .
The confirmation came after the Republican House leadership and former President Donald Trump slammed the recently unveiled 370-page bill, which ties $60 billion in military aid to Ukraine, $14 billion in military aid to Israel and $10 billion in humanitarian aid to the region Palestine with $20 billion. for US border security.
The Border Act of 2024 would eliminate the Biden administration’s so-called “catch and release” policy for asylum seekers.
In addition, the bill would add 50,000 beds to federal immigration detention facilities, appropriate $650 million for border wall construction and would allow President Biden to close the border when crossings exceed an average of 5,000 per day in a week.
The union has criticized President Biden’s handling of the border crisis. AP
“Since Joe Biden took office, CBP has averaged over 6,700 apprehensions per day and the vast majority of these illegal immigrants have been released under a policy known as catch and release,” Brandon Judd, president of the National Border Patrol. Council, said in a statement. “Approximately 60% of all border apprehensions are single adults, a large number of whom are military age men.”
Judd noted that the bill would give Border Patrol agents the ability to “remove single adults quickly and without the lengthy judicial review that has historically required the release of these individuals into the interior of the United States.”
The Border Patrol Union argued that the bill is “much better than the status quo.” James Keivom
The nation’s immigration court backlog under Biden, 81, reached record levels last year, jumping to more than 3 million pending cases, according to data compiled by the Syracuse University Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse.
“This alone will cut down illegal border crossings across the country and will allow our agents to go back to tracking and arresting those who want to cross our border illegally and avoid apprehension,” Judd said.
“Although not perfect, the Border Act 2024 is a step in the right direction and is much better than the current status quo,” the union leader’s statement continued. “This is why the National Border Patrol Council supports this bill and hopes that it will be passed quickly.”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell supported the legislation. AP
The endorsement came despite frequent criticism from the National Border Patrol Council of the president’s handling of the border crisis as well as Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
Judd previously told The Post his members wanted Mayorkas charged.
Earlier Monday, the union tweeted a photo of Biden tripping up the stairs while boarding Air Force One with the caption, “The US border, pictured.”
“Biden deliberately opened the border. It cannot be denied,” the group tweeted on Sunday after the much-anticipated legal text was released.
The National Border Patrol Council represents approximately 18,000 Border Patrol agents and support personnel, maintaining a 90% membership rate among eligible agents.
Sens. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), James Lankford (R-Okla.) and Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) – who handled negotiations with the White House on the legislation for the Senate – all touted the union’s ratification.
Trump has derided the bill as a “great gift to Democrats” and the House GOP leadership has said it is “DEAD on arrival” in the lower chamber, urging senators to “reject it.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
