Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) implored President Joe Biden on Sunday to take a strong position on securing the southern border if he wants to secure more aid to Ukraine.
The hawkish Republican lawmaker offered some advice to the Biden administration during an interview with CBS News as officials warned of a record month in which U.S. Border Patrol took into custody more than 225,000 migrants who crossed the border in December.
“Accept the idea that we’re full. Take the tools we’re willing to give you to stop the inflow” of migrants on the U.S.-southern border, including deportations, and “you’ll turn things around pretty quickly” and “we’ll get money for Ukraine,” Graham said in his “Face the Nation” appearance.
Sen. @LindseyGrahamSC says his message to the Biden administration amid border security negotiations is to "take the tools we're willing to give you to stop the inflow" of migrants on the U.S.-southern border "and we'll get money for Ukraine.” pic.twitter.com/mn71qwbUnK
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) December 31, 2023
The comments come as Senate talks, in which negotiators are trying to hash out an agreement tying border security reforms to aid for U.S. allies such as Ukraine, are reportedly poised to resume next week while Biden administration officials have been meeting with their counterparts in Mexico to address the migrant situation.
As the $111 billion in supplemental funds previously allocated to Ukraine runs out, and other conflicts rage — including Israel’s war on Hamas — Biden has pushed Congress for more than $100 billion in supplemental funding for national security priorities.
The request includes some money for border security, but any momentum toward passing the cash infusion has stalled because of Republican lawmakers demanding immigration reforms.
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Biden recently said he is “willing to make significant compromises” to “fix the broken border system.” The GOP-led House passed border legislation — H.R. 2 — earlier this year, but Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has refused to have the Senate take up the bill, dismissing what he described as “partisan right-wing demands.”
While a legislative solution is worked out, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) encouraged Biden to use executive action to end catch-and-release, stop the “exploitation” of parole authority, revive asylum cooperation agreements with Mexico, ramp up “expedited” removal of migrants who fail to qualify for asylum, and renew construction of a border wall.
Graham said he “desperately” wants to help Ukraine, but emphasized, “I cannot come back to South Carolina and talk about giving aid to Ukraine and Israel if the border’s still broken — it is not broken, it is in chaos.” He also said, “Our national security is very much at risk. So, Ukraine aid has to be tied to [the] border.”