Senate GOP demands massive asylum overhaul in return for Ukraine aid

Senate Republicans on Monday unveiled a list of border security proposals that they’re demanding in exchange for their support to send more assistance to Ukraine, kicking off what’s likely to be grueling negotiation on a major White House priority.

The House GOP’s signature border bill — known as HR2 — forms the bedrock of their Senate counterparts’ one-page blueprint, which would amount to an enormous overhaul of the asylum system. The changes would raise the “credible fear of persecution” threshold that migrants must meet for asylum claims; codify Trump-era rules like compelling asylum-seekers to wait out their cases in Mexico; and require migrants to make claims at a designated port of entry, among other changes.