Biden and senators on verge of striking immigration deal
Summary:A bipartisan group of lawmakers in Congress is on the verge of striking a deal with the Biden administration. While the purpose of the immigration bill is to reduce the unprecedented levels of illegal crossings recorded along the southern border, it includes provisions related to legal immigration, including allocating 50,000 new family and employment-based immigrant visas and and providing immigration status to the children of H-1B visa holders.A bipartisan group of lawmakers in Congress is on the verge of striking a deal with the Biden administration that would enact sweeping new border controls, including the authority to pause asylum processing during spikes in migrant crossings.
The bill is designed to reduce the unprecedented levels of illegal crossings recorded along the southern border in the past three years.
If enacted into law, the emerging deal would mark the first major bipartisan overhaul of the nation's immigration system since the 1990s.
The agreement is expected to give the executive branch a new legal authority to effectively suspend asylum in between official ports of entry when migrant crossings surpass certain thresholds.
Other border-related proposals that will likely be in any deal include expanding the scope of the expedited removal authority; instructing immigration officials to decide asylum cases within six months, as opposed to the current years-long timeframe; and raising the standard of proof in initial asylum interviews.
The compromise is also expected to include provisions related to legal immigration. Negotiators have agreed to allocate 50,000 new family and employment-based immigrant visas, offer permanent residency to tens of thousands of Afghans brought to the U.S. following the fall of Kabul in 2021 and provide immigration status to the children of H-1B visa holders,
