US Senate Bill On Border Security, Aid To Ukraine And Israel Faces Uncertain Future

The US Senate finally released the highly anticipated $118 billion bill to tighten border security to crack down on illegal immigration and to provide aid to Ukraine and Israel after months of negotiations. But the bill faces an uncertain future amid resistance by Donald Trump and extremist Republicans. However, 
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said an initial voting would be held on the bill on Wednesday. If passed, the bill would be one of the most significant changes in US immigration and border security.

Independent Senator Kyrsten Sinema said that the bill would secure the southern US border and get the Department of Homeland Security to 'shut down' the frontier to migrants if there is an average of over 5,000 crossing attempts every day or over seven days. Along with $20.23 billion for border security, it included $60.06 billion to support Ukraine fighting a war with Russia, 14.1 billion in financial assistance for Israel, $2.44 billion to US Central Command for tackling the Red Sea attacks by Houthis and $4.83 billion to support US partners in the Indo-Pacific battling the Chinese aggression. An additional $10 billion would also provide help and assistance to war-torn Gaza, the West Bank and Ukraine.

"The priorities in this bill are too important to ignore and too vital to allow politics to get in the way," Schumer said, adding, “The United States and our allies are facing multiple, complex and, in places, coordinated challenges from adversaries who seek to disrupt democracy and expand authoritarian influence around the globe."

The bill could be a shot in the arm for the Biden government as this would open an opportunity for the President to resupply Ukraine with aid. This came after the $60 billion bill for Ukraine was earlier stalled by Congress  which stopped the shipments of shipments of ammunition and missiles to Kyiv rendering theUkrainian soldiers outgunned.

Biden said, “Allows the United States to continue our vital work, together with partners all around the world, to stand up for Ukraine’s freedom and support its ability to defend itself against Russia’s aggression.”