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February 5, 2024

Senate Border Package Threatens Immigrant Rights; Sanders Amendment Would Cut $10B in Israeli Aid
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A bipartisan group of senators has unveiled a $118 billion package that
includes harsh new immigration measures with new military aid for
Ukraine, Israel and allies in the Pacific. President Biden has backed
the package, describing it as the toughest set of border reforms in
decades. The ACLU has warned the bipartisan deal would eviscerate
long-standing asylum protections and force the government to summarily
expel people from the border without due process. House Speaker Mike
Johnson has already said the bipartisan Senate package is "dead on
arrival" if it makes it to the House.

Meanwhile, independent Senator Bernie Sanders has announced plans to
introduce an amendment to remove $10.1 billion in military aid for
Israel. In a statement, Sanders denounced what he called "Netanyahu's
illegal, immoral war against the Palestinian people."

In other immigration news, a dozen Republican governors joined with
Texas Governor Greg Abbott at the U.S.-Mexico border to show support for
Texas's unprecedented standoff with the federal government. Last month,
the state of Texas seized a portion of the U.S.-Mexico border and has
refused to give Border Patrol agents access to the area.


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