Krysten Sinema, Thom Tillis craft immigration, border security deal

Sens. Kyrsten Sinema and Thom Tillis have crafted a bipartisan immigration deal that would boost security at the border while also providing a pathway to citizenship for the 2 million so-called “Dreamers,” a new report reveals.

Sinema (D-Ariz.) and Tillis (R-NC) are pressing for their proposal, which would also extend the Title 42 health policy for another year, to be voted on before the current lame-duck session of Congress ends this month, the Washington Post reported on Monday.

But they are working against the clock: A federal judge ordered Title 42, a Trump-era policy that has been used to expel more than 2.3 migrants at the border, to end on Dec. 21, and Congress is scheduled to begin its holiday recess the next day. 

At the same time, the House and Senate are rushing to approve legislation on defense spending and averting a government shutdown before the end of the year.

The draft outline drawn up by Sinema and Tillis would protect the “Dreamers” in exchange for at least $25 billion in increased funding for border security and for hiring more officers and increasing their pay, the Washington Post reported.