Senator Kyrsten Sinema defended the new border security deal she helped broker, calling it a path to ending arrests and releases.
Catch and release is the US Border Patrol’s practice of releasing detained immigrants while they await hearings in immigration court, often to adjudicate asylum claims. US immigration courts are currently plagued with massive backlogs.
“Our law changes that and in the practice of arrest, release,” Sinema (I-Ariz.) told CBS’ “Face the Nation” Sunday.
“So when people approach the border and say they want to enter our country for asylum, they will go into … short-term detention, which means we will detain them,” he continued.
“And we actually do interviews at that time as well to determine if they meet the standards for asylum.”
He noted that individuals who do not meet that standard, who are “mostly immigrants coming to our country now,” would be returned to their countries of origin under the bill.
While the text had not been released at press time, the details, seen by The Post, revealed it would create the authority to automatically turn away immigrants trying to enter the US when crossings exceed 5,000 in a day.
Kyrsten Sinema has not said whether she intends to run for re-election. Getty Images
The deal, which Sinema, 47, helped negotiate with Sens. James Lankford (R-Okla.) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) has faced strong opposition from House Republicans including Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.).
Former President Donald Trump has also urged the GOP to stop it.
Republicans have demanded stronger border security provisions in exchange for President Biden’s $106 billion supplemental request featuring aid to war-torn Ukraine and Israel, which prompted the negotiations.
Sinema, who hails from the border state, insists that there is a lot of “misinformation” swirling around the 5,000 figure.
“First of all, our law ends arrest and release. But when too many people approach the border, asking to come in to seek asylum, we now mandate that the government actually close the border, if the number reaches 5,000 a day,” he explained.
“But we allow the government to close the border when only 4,000 approaches a day,” he said. “The reason we do that is because we want to be able to shut down the system when it’s overloaded.”
Biden has vowed to sign the measure into law and use the authority immediately.
James Lankford represented the Republicans in the negotiations on the border agreement. CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images Chris Murphy argues that Republicans oppose a border deal because of the 2024 election. AP
“Although the current administration is indeed responsible for mishandling the border, we need to give new legal tools to the administration,” he stressed.
Some progressives like Greg Casar (D-Texas) have criticized the measure, arguing that it includes too many concessions for Republicans and that deporting immigrants could result in them being exploited at home.
“We will believe that by implementing this system quickly, individuals who come for economic reasons, will quickly learn that this is not the way to enter our country, and will not take the sometimes dangerous or dangerous journey to our borders,” said Cinema. when asked about those concerns.
Sinema explained that while many immigrants have legitimate asylum claims, there are also large numbers of “economic immigrants” who are simply looking for “a better life.”
“They are not allowed to enter the country whenever they want, and our new law will ensure that they cannot enter the country,” he said.
US Border Patrol sets record encounters for fiscal year 2023. James Keivom
During the 2023 fiscal year, which ended on September 30, a record-breaking 2.47 million migrant encounters were recorded along the Mexican border, according to US Customs and Border Protection.
A further 302,034 people crossing the border illegally were detained in December.
Sinema was first elected to the Senate as a Democrat before changing his party affiliation in December 2022 amid a series of clashes against progressives.
Alongside Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), Sinema helped mentor a multi-trillion dollar iteration of Biden’s so-called “Building Back Better” plan. Then in 2022, Biden managed to get the approval of the Reduced Inflation Act.
President Biden has urged Congress to send the bill to him. Getty Images
The battle for his seat in Arizona is ongoing with Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) and former gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake are the two front-runners in their respective parties.
Sinema, who all along doubted whether he intended to run, once again brushed aside the question. The filing deadline is in April.
“I think people across Arizona and the country know that when I decide I’m going to work on something important for our state and for our country, I stay focused on it,” Sinema said when asked about his re-election plans.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
