One policy change in the bill would bar Central American minors from seeking asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border, except under certain circumstances. | Don Emmert/AFP/Getty Images Immigration Republicans load spending bill with hard-line measures targeting asylum

A 1,300-page spending bill released by Senate Republicans Monday night contains provisions to restrict asylum and other hard-line immigration changes that make it unlikely to generate bipartisan support.

Democrats already were poised to reject President Donald Trump’s proposal to pass his $5.7 billion funding request for a border wall in exchange for temporary protections for some immigrants brought to the United States as children and others covered by a humanitarian status. But hawkish measures embedded in the Republican spending bill will give Democrats even more reason to spurn the legislation.


“This is a Stephen Miller special,” Kerri Talbot, a director with the Washington, D.C.-based Immigration Hub, told reporters Tuesday. “It’s a Trojan horse with many extreme immigration proposals included.”

The bill doesn’t appear likely to end a partial shutdown of the federal government that stretched into its 32nd day Tuesday.

One policy change in the bill would bar Central American minors from seeking asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border, except under certain circumstances. Instead, children from El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala would be required to apply from their home countries or in one of five other countries in the region. Children would need a parent or guardian in the U.S. to qualify for the new pathway.

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Moreover, the number of children who could be admitted through the new asylum channel would be limited to 15,000 annually. Under current law, asylum admissions are not capped.

“Any senator who is genuinely concerned about maintaining America’s commitment to protecting asylum seekers and refugees cannot support this bill,” said Greg Chen, director of government relations for the American Immigration Lawyers Association.

The Obama administration previously offered Central American children the opportunity to apply for asylum from their home countries, but it did not block them from seeking refuge at the border. Trump ended the Obama-era program in 2017.

Furthermore, the Republican spending bill would toughen the overall standard for asylum for children from those countries. The secretary of Homeland Security would need to consider an asylum grant for those minors to be “in the national interest,” a hurdle that would be heaped on top of existing requirements.

The legislation also would allow Central American minors who don’t qualify for humanitarian relief to be swiftly deported to their home countries pending agreements with those governments.

A pair of senior administration officials who hosted a call for reporters Tuesday evening sought to portray the bill as a starting point for bipartisan congressional negotiations. The officials spoke on background despite a reporter’s request to put the discussion on the record.

“Part of what we’re looking for is to have a conversation with people on the Hill,” said one Trump official. “We have no illusions that we have drafted the world’s first perfect piece of legislation.”

Early indications showed Democrats wouldn’t be receptive to the Republican overture. Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) called it “even worse than advertised” in a press release.

The depth of restrictionist policy changes in the bill drew immediate fire from pro-migrant advocates.

Philip Wolgin, managing director of the immigration program at the liberal Center for American Progress, joined a chorus of advocates who ripped the legislation.

“Hard to see this as anything but bad faith,” Wolgin tweeted Monday evening. He added that Senate Republicans could have produced a bill with a narrow immigration trade off — border money in exchange for protections for certain undocumented immigrants. Instead, the legislation contained “pages of new restrictions.”

The White House said over the weekend that Trump would support a compromise that would provide three-year provisional protections for immigrants covered by the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. The president moved to phase out the program in September 2017, but federal courts have halted the termination.

Orders from the Supreme Court on Tuesday didn't mention the DACA cases, despite a Justice Department request that they be added to the court's calendar for argument in April.

Over the weekend, the White House also floated protections for certain people covered by “Temporary Protected Status.” The humanitarian program offers work permits and deportation relief to roughly 400,000 people, but the Trump administration has sought to largely wind down enrollment.

The administration has moved to end the status for people from six countries covered by TPS. The Republican bill provides temporary protections to TPS recipients from El Salvador, Honduras, Haiti and Nicaragua — who make up the bulk of enrollees — but leaves out Nepal and Sudan.

The legislation also could block undocumented immigrants from obtaining TPS in the future. The measure includes language that would require applicants for the status to be “lawfully present” in the U.S.

The Republican bill significantly ramps up funding for immigration enforcement, according to a summary posted online by the Senate Appropriations Committee — another aspect that could repel Democrats.

The legislation provides money to maintain 52,000 detention beds per day, a 28 percent increase over currently funded levels.

In addition, it would fund 2,000 additional law enforcement personnel for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a 10 percent boost over current staffing levels. The measure would also pay for approximately 750 new Border Patrol agents.

Sanaa Abrar, advocacy director with the immigrant youth-led United We Dream, said the bill uses DACA recipients as a bargaining chip to accomplish Trump’s immigration crackdown.

“[The president] is saying that he may temporarily shield some immigrants while he permanently builds the deportation force to go after everyone else,” Abrar told reporters Tuesday.

