EXCLUSIVE: Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., told Fox News Digital on Monday that he will definitely vote against the Senate deal on borders and immigration along with aid to Israel and Ukraine, arguing that aid to Israel should be isolated separately and that President Biden already has the power he needs to end the border crisis.
“I'm a no from Hades,” Scott said when asked if he would support the deal released Sunday night and likely to be voted on this week.
Senate negotiators on Sunday night released the $118 billion supplemental spending package, which includes funding for Ukraine, Israel and approximately $20 billion in funding for border and immigration-related issues.
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Includes new border authority to allow Title 42-style expulsions when migration levels exceed 5,000 per day over a 7-day rolling average, reduces eligibility for asylum while speeding up the process, provides additional work permits for asylum seekers and finances a massive increase in staff. at the border, in immigration courts and in asylum offices.
Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) speaks as Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump looks on during a campaign rally at the Grappone Convention Center on January 19, 2024 in Concord, New Hampshire. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
It faces considerable pressure from conservatives, including in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, where lawmakers have asserted that the agreement will regularize high levels of illegal immigration, while funding non-governmental organizations and providing legal aid to illegal immigrants. Some on the left have also opposed the bill because it does not include a path to citizenship for some illegal immigrants already in the US.
Scott criticized the bill as “unsatisfactory and unnecessary” and argued that Biden can already secure the border without a power that Scott said allows too many migrant crossings before it is activated. Biden has said he cannot secure the border without fixing a “broken” immigration system and without additional funding.
“I think it's a lie to think that Joe Biden needs Congress to act in order to secure the border,” Scott said.
He also objected that the bill is accompanied by $60 billion for Ukraine and $14 billion for Israel, saying those issues should be debated and passed separately.
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“We are going to spend $60 billion in Ukraine and we already need accountability for the resources we are spending,” he said. “What brought us to this point, the crisis in Israel, is approximately $14 billion. We are making a critical mistake by using the crisis in our ally Israel to put more money into Ukraine and less real attention to the border.” , said.
“I'm grateful we're finally having a conversation about the border, but it's the wrong one. It should be in a silo. We should fix and secure our southern border, and the president of the United States can do it right now,” he said. “He undid what [former President Donald] Trump assures us. Joe Biden did it alone. He literally shattered a secure border with his actions as president.”
Scott, who recently ended his 2024 presidential bid and endorsed Trump in his White House bid, said he would first deal with Israel on his own and then have a standalone bill to address the border crisis.
“I would actually acknowledge the fact that the vast majority of people crossing our border are not from Mexico,” he said. “Literally, Chinese nationals are crossing our southern border in record numbers, we see over 150 countries represented on our southern border. So if we did an effective job, we would have them in isolated packages so we could really deal with the situation.” “The problem this nation faces is including what I believe are sleeper cells in our nation, because… the Biden administration has not monitored who is coming to our country with an 85% release rate, with 10 million people entering for the elections.”
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Scott contrasted this with the stance taken by the Trump administration, which it considers a success in controlling illegal migration to the US.
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“The key was the desire to have a secure border number one,” he said. “The second was the tenacity and fortitude to take the necessary measures to secure our border, to include the Remain in Mexico policy, to include seeking asylum in a country adjacent to your own, to include the possibility of focusing more on another border of Mexico, not our border and, of course, the codification of a wall and its financing,” he said.
