By Maria Ortiz
Dec 14, 2023, 11:00 PM EST
He Senate decided to delay his vacation and return to Capitol Hill next week to negotiate an agreement on immigration and aid to Ukraine and Israel, although House lawmakers left Thursday to begin their Christmas recess.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced that change on the floor Thursday afternoon, a day after Immigration negotiators will express some signs of optimism in terms of reaching an agreement.
“Over the past few days, negotiations on the way forward to achieve the national security complement have made good progress. “As I said, if we believe something is important and urgent, we should stay and do the work,” Schumer said. “That is certainly the case with the supplement. It is important. It is urgent”.
“So, for the information of all senators, after we finish today, the Senate will return on Monday,” said Schumer, D-N.Y. “That will give White House negotiators, Senate Democrats and Senate Republicans time to work over the weekend in an effort to reach a framework agreement.”
Senate Republicans say an immigration deal is crucial to unlock their votes in favor of approving US aid to Ukraine and Israel, which is a high priority for President Joe Biden.
Schumer said the Senate looks forward to “acting as soon as we are ready to move forward with the supplement.”
The Senate will return next week hoping to approve the $110 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel and other national security countries and finalize a deal to impose new restrictions on asylum claims at the U.S. border. .
The White House is negotiating a change to its immigration policy that would allow Homeland Security officials to block migrants from seeking asylum if the total number of crossings exceeds a certain capacity.
Negotiators have also considered several other policies that resemble those implemented during former President Donald Trump’s administration, including detaining people seeking asylum at the border and granting nationwide authority to quickly expel migrants who have been in the United States for less than two years.
Keep reading:
– The White House evaluates expulsions at the border, mandatory detention and more deportations to reach an agreement with Congress
– Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus ask Biden not to implement immigration measures such as Title 42
– Hispanic congressmen ask Biden to reject the immigration plan pushed by Republicans