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SALT LAKE CITY — Sen. Mike Lee is extremely unhappy with a recently unveiled bipartisan border and foreign aid package that would limit crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border and expedite the processing of asylum claims.
The Utah Republican is so unhappy with the proposal that he released a 12-part rebuttal to the legislation, which he dubbed the "Dirty Dozen" disasters within the deal, which he claimed would make the situation at the southern border worse.
"This is worse than bad negotiation," the senator posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Sunday. "It's betrayal. The Senate GOP can still stop it if 41 will stand together."
In a barrage of posts Sunday, Lee referred to the proposal as "asinine," said it "feels like an elaborate practical joke," called the bill a "hot mess," dead on arrival and a "crap-sandwich of a border bill."
"Senate GOP leadership screwed this up — and screwed us," he tweeted. "Even while refusing to let us see the bill they claimed to be negotiating on our behalf — for MONTHS — they were never in doubt, insisting we'd be dumb and even unpatriotic NOT to support it. This is a disqualifying betrayal."
Lee also took to social media to say the proposal — which he branded with the hashtag #TheBorderNeverClosesAct — hurts Republicans in the upcoming 2024 elections by "falsely implying the border crisis was caused by 'congressional inaction' rather than Biden's refusal to enforce the law ... sharply dividing Republican senators ... uniting Democrats, and ... insulting our base."
In a news release, Lee argued the proposal would codify a policy of what he called "catch and release," provide grants for shelter, transportation, legal advice and other service to undocumented immigrants, and "does not require the president or secretary of Homeland Security to deport anyone."
According to Sen. James Lankford, R-Oklahoma, who led GOP negotiations on the bill, the proposal would stop over half a million border crossings each year by ending the administration's use of "catch-and-release" through a mobile app and clarify the definition of humanitarian parole to crack down on abuse of the system at the border.
Lankford's website also says the bill would add 50,000 detention beds, ICE agents and deportation flights, while barring "illegal migrants who could have relocated within their home country from being eligible for asylum in the U.S."
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, an independent from Arizona who also worked closely to craft the bill, took to social media to dispel misconceptions that the bill legalizes illegal immigration.
"To no one's surprise (including those who are falsely claiming it) — our bill does not 'legalize illegal immigration,'" Sinema said. "Our bill ends catch and release and allows us to quickly remove migrants who are not here legally."
The package also includes wartime aid for Ukraine, which is a priority for President Joe Biden and both Sens. Chuck Schumer and Mitch McConnell, the top Democrat and Republican in the Senate, respectively.
But despite the support from top Senate leaders from both parties and the drumbeat of anger from Republicans — including Lee, who compared illegal immigration to "slavery" during a visit to the border in October — who have criticized Biden over the influx of migrants at the southern border, the bill's future is in doubt after Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, also declared the bill "dead on arrival" if it reaches the House.
"I've seen enough," Johnson tweeted. "This bill is even worse than we expected, and won't come close to ending the border catastrophe the president has created. As the lead Democrat negotiator proclaimed: Under this legislation, 'the border never closes.'"
Johnson was referring to a statement from Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Connecticut, in which the senator described powers in the bill that allow the president to stop processing asylum claims when the number of crossings is high.
"Importantly, even during these emergency times, the border never fully closes," Murphy stated. "The president is just better able to manage the border by moving asylum claim processing to the land ports."
Murphy also touted provisions that would reform the asylum approval process to ensure that claims are heard within six months, rather than 10 years, "as is often the case today."
On Monday afternoon, Lee launched an online fundraiser to "stop the border bill," the proceeds of which go to his campaign committee, Friends of Mike Lee.
"We need support to stop the border bill," he tweeted.
Utah's other senator, Republican Sen. Mitt Romney, said former President Donald Trump is to blame for the GOP backing away from the border deal. Immigration was a key part of the former president's previous platforms, and would likely be a useful political cudgel against Biden in the likely event that Trump wins the Republican nomination.
"I think the border is a very important issue for Donald Trump. And the fact that he would communicate to Republican senators and congresspeople that he doesn't want us to solve the border problem because he wants to blame Biden for it is really appalling," Romney told reporters last week.
"But the reality is that we have a crisis at the border; the American people are suffering as a result of what's happening at the border," he said, adding that Trump plans to have Republicans "save that problem," and let him "take credit for solving it later."
Trump took to his social media site Truth Social to rail against the bill Monday, saying, "Only a fool, or a Radical Left Democrat, would vote for this horrendous Border Bill, which only gives Shutdown Authority after 5000 Encounters a day, when we already have the right to CLOSE THE BORDER NOW, which must be done."
"This Bill is a great gift to the Democrats, and a Death Wish for The Republican Party," he continued. "Don't be STUPID!!!"
Democrats hold a narrow majority in the Senate, but under chamber rules would need support from at least 60 senators to bring the bill to the floor for a vote. Lee urged at least 41 of his Republican colleagues to band together to block the bill, which has support from the Republican leader and the Border Patrol.
