{"id":59351,"date":"2019-05-22T17:16:35","date_gmt":"2019-05-22T17:16:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2019\/05\/22\/disaster-aid-bill-that-helps-military-stalls-in-immigration-debate\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T00:25:58","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T00:25:58","slug":"disaster-aid-bill-that-helps-military-stalls-in-immigration-debate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2019\/05\/22\/disaster-aid-bill-that-helps-military-stalls-in-immigration-debate\/","title":{"rendered":"Disaster aid bill that helps military stalls in immigration debate"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2015 Lawmakers are hopeful they can pass a bill<\/a> this week that includes hundreds of millions of dollars for badly damaged military posts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But they still haven\u2019t resolved border wall funding and immigration policy provisions sought by the White House that have snagged progress for months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Negotiators are apparently wrangling over how to pay for the Trump administration\u2019s decision to expand arrest priorities to include nearly every undocumented immigrant. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is reportedly <\/a>detaining more than 52,000 immigrants in jails around the country, exceeding limits placed by Congress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s dealing with the border among other things: What do you do with people? Do you detain them, do you have the facilities to detain them, or do you turn them loose and never hear from them again?\u201d said Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby, R-Ala. \u201cThat\u2019s part of the overall deal: Do you have the beds to detain them, or do you let them sign their own bond and promise to come back?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Democrats days ago offered<\/a> to include billions in humanitarian assistance tied to the U.S.-Mexico border in the aid package, but its unclear how close this comes to the White House position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHistorically, beds were an attempt by Congress to limit detentions by ICE; you\u2019d only give them so many beds so they can only hold so many people,\u201d said Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill, the Senate\u2019s No. 2 Democrat. \u201cExpanding beds now because of the humanitarian border crisis, many are arguing on the left, is an excuse to expand the number of detentions, to arrest more people.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Republicans are reviewing the latest counteroffer on disaster aid from Democrats on Wednesday, Shelby was cagey about Congress passing a bipartisan, bicameral agreement before leaving for the Memorial Day recess. Congress could delay the recess and stay for a vote Friday, if there\u2019s a deal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe could, but we can\u2019t vote on anything until they come to agreement, first in principle and then they\u2019ve got to put the language together,\u201d Shelby said, adding that the talks seemed close before but faltered.<\/p>\n\n\n\t