Are Lawmakers Close to a Deal on Immigration?

What’s preventing lawmakers from reaching a deal on immigration reform?

For Context: In May 2023, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives passed H.R.2, the “Secure the Border Act.” Negotiations on immigration reform in the Senate are ongoing. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said last week that a Senate deal significantly less than H.R.2 would be “dead” in the House.

Valuable Problem: A writer in the Washington Post (Lean Right bias) accused GOP lawmakers of using the border crisis for political purposes, arguing that for Republicans, “the problem is much more valuable than its cure.” Determining that messaging from Republicans is intentionally “incoherent,” the writer argued House Republicans are stalling because they do not want President Joe Biden to receive credit for immigration reform, opting instead to stall until a Republican is in the White House. The writer concluded, “Rather than resolve a telegenic crisis, Republicans apparently plan to keep it going to mobilize their base ahead of the election.”

“Everybody Wins”: The New York Post Editorial Board (Right bias) called on Biden to “Show some spine” and find a deal with Republicans to “harden the US border in exchange for OKing aid to Ukraine.” Immigration reform, the board argued, would make “political sense” for Biden, whose approval rating has “cratered” on account of the border crisis. Additionally, the board concluded a deal on immigration would unfreeze Ukrainian aid, concluding, “everybody wins: Average Americans crushed by the migrant crisis and Ukrainians trying to fend off Putin’s imperial aims.”