Conservative immigration groups were on edge Tuesday as they waited for the details of a preliminary border deal to keep the government open to be released.
The agreement “in principle” would avoid a second government shutdown this year by giving the Trump administration $1.375 billion to construct physical barriers along a 55-mile portion of the border at the Rio Grande Valley. That’s less than Trump’s initial $5.7 billion request.
Democrats said they favored the deal because it cuts the number of detention beds, but Republicans said the deal wouldn’t cap the number of immigrants that can be detained. Details of that seemingly contradictory language still weren’t clear on Tuesday.
Trump said Tuesday he is “extremely unhappy with what the Democrats have given us,” but Trump also said at the White House he doesn’t expect another shutdown, a sign he may sign the bill that also funds dozens of departments and agencies that otherwise will be without funding after Friday.
Conservative groups were also awaiting the details on Tuesday, but some said they were worried about the potential cut in detention beds.
“Frankly, I think … the ability to detain illegal immigrants is more important than an extra 50 miles of fencing,” Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, said Tuesday on C-SPAN.
Krikorian called the reported $1.7 billion for border technology “essential,” but also wanted changes to the asylum process to be included in the deal.
“To some degree, they seem to have held the line,” Krikorian said of Republicans. “On the other hand, there is a basic change in our asylum rules, those loopholes in our asylum rules, that don’t seem to have been included at all in there, and in fact, that would have been more important than all of these other measures combined.”
.@MarkSKrikorian says ability to detain illegal immigrants more important than ‘an extra 50 miles of fencing.’ This morning on C-SPAN: pic.twitter.com/wGmgbe3HyN
— Paul Conner (@paconner) February 12, 2019
The Federation of Americans for Immigration Reform said the deal seems like a “terrible” one.
“We haven’t seen text yet, but less detention beds + reversing Sessions-backed asylum changes in exchange for $1.3 billion in border barrier funding sounds like TERRIBLE deal for @realDonaldTrump and public safety,” the group tweeted Tuesday.
We haven’t seen text yet, but less detention beds + reversing Sessions-backed asylum changes in exchange for $1.3 billion in border barrier funding sounds like TERRIBLE deal for @realDonaldTrump and public safety.
— FAIR (@FAIRImmigration) February 12, 2019
NumbersUSA was similarly skeptical.
“The text for DHS funding bill has not been released. Will it: #1 Increase the number of H-2B guest workers hurting the job prospects of Americans? #2 Reverse Sessions’ ruling on credible fear, thereby diminishing the effectiveness of any new barriers?” the group asked on Twitter.
The text for DHS funding bill has not been released. Will it:
#1 Increase the number of H-2B guest workers hurting the job prospects of
Americans?
#2 Reverse Sessions’ ruling on credible fear, thereby diminishing the
effectiveness of any new barriers?— NumbersUSA (@NumbersUSA) February 12, 2019
Conservative commentator Ann Coulter focused on the Democratic push for fewer detention beds.
“Dems immigration demand: No wall and fewer detention beds. They say walls don’t work on the border, but walls work too well on criminals,” Coulter tweeted Tuesday.
Dems immigration demand: No wall and fewer detention beds. They say walls don’t work on the border, but walls work too well on criminals.
— Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) February 12, 2019
Trump indicated Tuesday at a rally in Texas he would not sign a bill that would limit detention space.
“I will never sign a bill that forces the mass release of violent criminals into our country,” he said.
