Independent Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema launched an effort Sunday to convince her fellow senators to support a new bipartisan border deal that she helped negotiate, though the bill ultimately may be dead on arrival in the House of Representatives.
The agreement would mandate a drastic overhaul of the existing asylum system in the United States, in exchange for military spending for U.S. allies abroad.
Among other provisions, it would allow the federal government to conditionally shut down all asylum processing along the U.S.-Mexico border and to reduce from years to months the length of time it takes to adjudicate asylum cases.
“We’ll no longer have people just entering the country and maybe going to court in the next seven or ten years,” Sinema said on Sunday morning. “Folks who do qualify for asylum will be on a rapid path, six months or less, to start a new life in America. And those who do not qualify will quickly be returned to their home countries.”
The border deal is part of a $118 billion package revealed Sunday that also includes new aid for Ukraine, Israel, and other U.S. allies.