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House Republicans Say Senate's Border Bill is a 'Waste of Time,' 'Dead on Arrival'

'The Senate immigration bill ... fails in every policy area needed to secure our border'

Published: February 5, 2024
  |   By Hannah Claire Brimelow
House Republicans Say Senate's Border Bill is a 'Waste of Time,' 'Dead on Arrival'

Republicans in the House of Representatives denounced a proposed solution to the border crisis created by the United States Senate.


The 370-page deal, titled the Emergency National Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, was released on Feb. 4 after weeks of negotiations. The ongoing security crises at the U.S.-Mexico border and the rate of illegal immigration under President Joe Biden have sparked new public outcry since mid-January. 

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, Majority Leader Steven Scalise, GOP Majority Whip Tom Emmer, and Rep. Elisa Stefanik released a joint statement on X Monday announcing their opposition.

"The Senate immigration bill ... fails in every policy area needed to secure our border and would actually incentivize more illegal immigration," the statement reads. "Among its many flaws, the bill expands work authorizations for illegal aliens while failing to include critical asylum reforms. Even worse, its language allowing illegals to be ‘released from physical custody’ would effectively endorse the Biden ‘catch and release’ policy."

The lawmakers claim the proposed legislation offers "too much discretionary authority" to embattled DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, the subject of an impeachment attempt by House Republicans.

"The bill also fails to adequately stop the President’s abuse of parole authority and provides for taxpayer funds to fly and house illegal immigrants in hotels through the FEMA Shelter and Services Program," the statement continues before urging the Senate to pass the House's Secure the Border Act (H.R. 2) "immediately."

"America’s sovereignty is at stake," the Republicans concluded. "Any consideration of this Senate bill in its current form is a waste of time. It is DEAD on arrival in the House. We encourage the U.S. Senate to reject it."


“Let me be clear: The Senate Border Bill will NOT receive a vote in the House,” Scalise said in a Feb. 4 statement on X. “Here’s what the people pushing this 'deal' aren’t telling you: It accepts 5,000 illegal immigrants a day and gives automatic work permits to asylum recipients—a magnet for more illegal immigration.”

His message was viewed 4.6 million times in less than 24 hours. 

The bipartisan bill was backed by the Biden administration and would “give the president far-reaching powers to clamp down on unlawful border crossings, including the authority to turn away migrants without allowing them to request asylum,” according to CBS News. This would be the first significant update to the nation’s immigration policies since the 1990s if the proposal is enacted.

The bill would cost $118 billion and includes funding for Israel and Ukraine. Approximately $20 billion would be used for American border security.

Congressman Andy Ogles of Tennessee released a video highlighting the 74 times the bill established fiscal support for Ukraine.


“This bill is the worst screwing in the Senate since that Dem staffer filmed his porno on Klobuchar’s desk,” said Congressman Mike Collins of Georgia, referring to the former member of Senator Ben Cardin’s staff who filmed himself having sex with another man in a Senate hearing room. Aidan Maese-Czeropski, the staffer, and the other man involved refused to cooperate with the investigation and the U.S Capitol Police announced on Feb. 1 that no charges would be filed against anyone involved.

Stefanik of New York called the proposal the “Joe Biden/Chuck Schumer Open Border Bill” and “an absolute non-starter” that will “further incentivize thousands of illegals to pour in across our borders daily.”

“House Republicans have already passed HR2 - the Secure Our Border Act, which would actually secure the border and return to the effective Trump policies with the most secure border in our nation’s history,” she wrote on X.

Senator James Lankford, a Republican from Oklahoma, defended the border compromise bill in the wake of its public condemnation from House Republicans.

“The Border Emergency Authority has been the most misunderstood or maybe just misrepresented parts of the bill,” Lankford wrote on X. He denied the allegations that 5,000 illegal immigrants enter the country a day.

Political commentator Mike Cernovich responded with a screenshot from the bill confirming the statistic.


Lankford also said that the “Border Emergency Authority only lasts 3 yrs to force this Admin to shut down the border & to give time for the next POTUS to hire more agents & more officers.” 

“After three years, the emergency authority expires because we should have regained full control of our border by then,” he added. 

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