The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday that President Joe Biden and his congressional colleagues are willing to make concessions on limiting immigration across the southern border of the United States to get Republicans to agree to vote for a multibillion-dollar military aid package for Ukraine, as well as Israel and Taiwan.
According to the WSJ, the Senate is preparing a bill that would restrict immigrants' ability to apply for asylum.
American politicians and the press have been talking about the fact that Republicans and Democrats are agreeing on some compromises on immigration and the package of aid to allies in recent weeks.
On Wednesday, Joe Biden held a meeting on this topic at the White House with the leaders of the Republican and Democratic factions in both houses of Congress. The White House said only that Biden was confident in the results they had achieved in negotiations with the Republicans.
The package of aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan, as well as allocations for strengthening the southern border, is more than $100 billion, with about $61 billion of it earmarked for Ukraine. Joe Biden submitted this proposal to Congress late last year. The Republicans, who have a majority in the House of Representatives, refuse to vote for it until the Democrats give in on immigration.
Background. As a reminder, the leaders of the US Congress recently agreed on a bill on temporary funding. It is needed to give time to agree on spending for the full fiscal year 2024.