The Senate’s border bill, commonly referred to as the Biden administration’s supplemental spending request since it would attach aid to Israel and Ukraine, was sharply criticized by Sen. Marsha Blackburn, a Republican from Tennessee, on Sunday night.
According to Blackburn’s news statement, the $118 billion bill is illegal.
Blackburn insisted in a statement that “it is against the law for an individual to cross into our country—it’s incredible that still needs to be said.”
The bill’s text states that unless security measures are implemented, up to 5,000 undocumented immigrants could enter the country each day.
“We are a nation of law and order, yet the Biden administration has allowed over 8.8 million illegal immigrants to flood our border,” the representative added.
Meanwhile, cartels and unapproved sponsors are abusing at least 85,000 migrant children under the supervision of Biden’s HHS [Department of Health and Human Services]. That’s intolerable, just as it’s wrong to let even one illegal immigrant into our nation. I will never vote in favor of legalizing immigration, and I will not back this agreement. A vote on the Secure the Border Act (H.R.2), which entered the Senate on May 15 but has remained untouched without even a hearing, ought to be called if my Democratic colleagues are sincere about cooperating with us to fortify the border.”
Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) said in a series of posts on X in the early hours of the measure’s unveiling in the Senate: “No self-respecting senator should agree to vote on this 370-page bill this week.”
“Any 41 senators can prevent the bill from proceeding,” he said. “If you agree that senators should have this bill for at least a few weeks (and certainly more than a few days) before voting on it, say so!”
Lee continued by saying that the bill would provide the Ukrainian military with more funding than the US budget for the Marines.
“Fun fact,” adds Lee, “the U.S. Marine Corps had a $53.8 billion budget in FY23.” Ukraine would receive more than $60 billion under this bill.”
The senator continues, “Democrats want to defund the police and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the U.S. but send $300 million to Ukrainian law enforcement and the Ukrainian State Border Guard Service,” in one of the bill’s sections that Lee has highlighted.