House Democrats reject GOP’s immigration limits in Ukraine aid bill

House Democrats are sending a loud and early warning that they’ll oppose new restrictions on immigration as part of a Ukraine aid package, escalating the partisan fight over border security as Congress races to prop up Kyiv’s fighting forces before year’s end

The Democrats — including well-placed members of the Hispanic and Progressive caucuses — argue that America’s border policies have no bearing on U.S. efforts to help a democratic ally repel Russian forces, and any drastic changes to U.S. policy toward migrants would dissolve their support for the broader aid package.

“It’s a no,” said Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.). “We are absolutely not going to go for [Republicans’] border stuff. It’s terrible.”

The growing opposition is putting pressure on President Biden and other Democratic leaders to hold the line in rejecting GOP demands for stricter laws to curb the influx of migrants on the southern border — demands that have emerged as the central sticking point as Washington scrambles to send more military help to Kyiv before January.

While Democrats don’t control the House, their votes will likely be crucial to the passage of any international aid bill, as a host of conservative Republicans — citing concerns over deficit spending, foreign encroachment, or both — are signaling their intention to oppose the package if it reaches the floor. 

Those dynamics lend the minority Democrats some rare leverage in the debate. And while some are concerned they’ll get rolled, many others are vowing to use that leverage if Republicans insist on including new limits for migrants seeking asylum, parole and refugee status. 

“I’m 100 percent in favor of Ukraine aid, but if they tie some of these border proposals that they have, I’d vote no,” said Rep. Juan Vargas (D-Calif.). “And I think a whole bunch of us would vote no.”

Biden had proposed almost $14 billion for border security as part of his $106 billion supplemental spending proposal, which would provide emergency aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, as well as humanitarian assistance for Palestinians in Gaza. 

But Biden’s border strategy focuses on providing more funding for existing programs — including Border Patrol, immigration judges and asylum officers to accelerate claims — while Republicans are demanding substantive changes to immigration law aimed at reducing the rights of migrants to enter the U.S. at all. 

In May, House Republicans had passed a sweeping bill, called H.R.2, to overhaul the immigration system, which included provisions to resume construction of the border wall, shrink the pool of migrants eligible for asylum, expand the qualifications required to achieve refugee status and curtail the administration’s powers to grant parole. 

No Democrats supported that bill. And this week, as House lawmakers await Senate action on an emergency supplemental, a host of Democrats said they’ll reject the aid package if the central pieces of H.R.2 are included. 

“We can’t lose our values in this thing,” said Rep. Greg Meeks (N.Y.), senior Democrat on the Foreign Affairs Committee. “We think that we need to deal with certain things on the border. We can work together to get certain things done. But not the draconian moves — a lack of human rights, etc. — that the Republicans want and put forward in H.R.2. 

“That is a red line.”

He’s not alone. On Monday, leaders of the Progressive Caucus surveyed their members and found that most of the group would oppose emergency aid legislation that scaled back programs such as asylum and humanitarian parole, which allow thousands of migrants to remain in the U.S. while their claims are considered.

“They are holding aid to Israel and Ukraine hostage to changes to the asylum system that would destroy the asylum system — things that they could not get done through regular order,” Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), who heads the Progressive Caucus, told CNN on Sunday. “And I think we need to put our foot down and say no.”

The Senate is taking the lead on the supplemental, but negotiators have hit a wall on the border issue, leading to plenty of finger-pointing as senators in both parties cast blame for the impasse.  

“Dems want $106B — GOP wants a closed border. That’s the trade. But clueless Dems want to negotiate the border bill. Not going to happen,” Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) wrote Tuesday on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. “Is an open border more important to Dems than Ukraine and Israel?”

Adding to the urgency, Biden administration officials are warning that U.S. aid to Ukraine will run dry by year’s end unless Congress steps in with additional funding. In a letter sent Monday to Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), Shalanda Young, Biden’s budget director, said no Plan B exists. 

“There is no magical pot of funding available to meet this moment,” Young wrote. “We are out of money — and nearly out of time.”

The issue of Ukraine aid is a challenging one for the newly installed Speaker. Johnson had opposed $300 million in military aid for Kyiv in September, but he’s shifted positions since taking the gavel in October, vowing to support new Ukraine funding despite the opposition from his vocal right flank. But like Republicans in the Senate, he’s demanding that it be linked to “transformative change to our nation’s border security laws.”

With both parties dug in, the emergency aid will remain in limbo unless one side blinks and offers some concessions to the other. Some voices are warning that there is no alternative.  

“Ukraine has to be this year,” said Rep. Adam Smith (Wash.), senior Democrat on the Armed Services Committee. 

“Israel’s got some time; Ukraine, it’s getting tough. … They’ve got weeks,” he continued. “Ukraine is resilient — they will find a way to survive. But that’s going to be a whole hell of a lot easier if we do something.”