Border Bill Would Allow Up To 8,500 Migrants Daily

The text of the new $118 billion “Border Bill” that was negotiated by a bipartisan group of Senators was released Sunday night, and it was revealed that up to 8,500 migrants could cross the border in a single day without triggering an emergency declaration.

The actual text of the bill states, “The Secretary shall activate the border emergency authority if – during a period of seven consecutive calendar days, there is an average of 5,000 or more aliens who are encountered each day; or on any 1 calendar day, a combined total of 8,500 or more aliens are encountered.”

Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) was the lead GOP negotiator on the border deal, and before the bill’s release said that the rumor that more than 5,000 illegal crossings per day would be allowed was “the most misunderstood section of this proposal.”

“It would be absolutely absurd for me to agree to 5,000 people a day. This bill focuses on getting us to zero illegal crossings a day,” he said on “Fox News Sunday.”

Lankford was right. Rather than 5,000 illegal crossings per day, 8,500 will be allowed.

Republicans in the House were vocal about their opposition to the bill before the text was even released. After it was released, the rhetoric turned more negative.

“I’ve seen enough,” House Speaker Mike Johnson wrote. “This bill is even worse than we expected, and won’t come close to ending the border catastrophe the President has created. As the lead Democrat negotiator proclaimed: Under this legislation, ‘the border never closes.’ If the bill reaches the House, it will be dead on arrival.”

Lankford expressed surprise and confusion at the Republican response.

“I’m a little confused how it’s worse than they expected,” Lankford told reporters.

“It builds [the] border wall, expands deportation flights, expands ICE officers, border patrol officers, detention beds how it creates a faster process for deportations, clears up a lot of the long-term issues and loopholes that have existed in the asylum law and then gets us an emergency authority that stops the chaos right now on the border.”

Former President Donald Trump used his Truth Social platform to urge GOP lawmakers not to support the border deal unless they receive “EVERYTHING needed to shut down the INVASION of Millions & Millions of people.”

The Senate is expected to vote as early as Wednesday on the measure, but House Republicans have made it clear that passage in the Senate does not mean the bill would pass the House.