Screenshot of Rick Scott speaking at press conference in Washington D.C. on May 22, 2024 (photo credit: Office of Sen. Rick Scott)
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Florida Republican U.S. Sen. Rick Scott said Wednesday that an immigration bill being brought back to the Senate floor by Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is a complete “sham.”
“This is a desperate move to shift blame and distance Democrats from Biden’s toxic open-border policies that have brought millions of illegal immigrants, drugs, and terrorists across the border,” Scott said at a press conference with other GOP senators in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday.
The bipartisan border bill was negotiated over several months by Connecticut Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy, Independent Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, and Oklahoma Republican James Lankford. According to a press release issued by Sinema, the bill fixes the “broken system” in a number of ways, including:
Raising the asylum screening standard to assess whether a migrant has a credible fear of persecution or torture to ensure those with legitimate asylum claims receive protection, while those with invalid claims are removed quickly.
Consolidate the multiple initial screenings into one Protection Determination interview, which all migrants undergo in 90 days or fewer.
End “catch and release” by requiring the detention or mandatory supervision of all migrants processed at the border, ensuring all migrants follow through with the asylum process.
“This bill won’t solve Joe Biden’s crisis — in fact, it codifies his failed policies,” Scott said. “The truth is, if Biden wanted to fix the border, he would do it today by enforcing the laws we have to secure the border, just like President Trump did. Then Biden and [Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro] Mayorakas dismantled the entire immigration system and allowed it to become lawless.”
The border bill failed to advance when it was voted on in the Senate in February, 49-50, falling well short of the 60 votes needed for passage under the filibuster rule. The Biden administration and congressional Democrats blasted Senate Republicans after they voted to kill the bill, blaming Donald Trump in particular.
“Every day between now and November, the American people are going to know that the only reason the border is not secure is Donald Trump and his MAGA Republican friends,” Biden said in February.
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