Tennessee U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) released a statement opposing a $118.3 billion emergency spending package that would fund U.S. national security efforts in Ukraine, Israel, and at the U.S.-Mexico border.
On Sunday, the Senate appropriations committee announced the details of the spending package, of which the majority of the funding – more than $60 billion – would be intended for Ukraine.
The package would also direct more than $14 billion for Israel and $20 billion to enforce policy changes at the U.S.-Mexico border.
The remaining funds included in the package would go towards efforts in the Indo-Pacific and humanitarian efforts in Ukraine, Israel, Gaza, and other populations.
One border policy change included in the package is the implementation of an expulsion authority, which would send migrants back to Mexico without an opportunity to claim asylum if the number of illegal border crossings reaches above 5,000 daily for a five-day average.
On X, Donald Trump Jr. noted that the proposed expulsion authority policy is “really a mass amnesty that essentially locks in 2 million illegals per year.”
In a statement shortly after the text of the package was released, Tennessee’s Blackburn announced she would not be supporting the deal, saying that “allowing even one immigrant to enter our country illegally is unacceptable.”
It is against the law for an individual to illegally cross into our country — it’s incredible that still needs to be said. We are a nation of law and order, yet the Biden administration has allowed over 8.8 million illegal immigrants to flood our border.
— Sen. Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) February 5, 2024
“It is against the law for an individual to illegally cross into our country — it’s incredible that still needs to be said. We are a nation of law and order, yet the Biden administration has allowed over 8.8 million illegal immigrants to flood our border. Meanwhile, at least 85,000 migrant children have gone missing under the watch of Biden’s HHS as cartels and unvetted sponsors take advantage of them. That is unacceptable, and allowing even one immigrant to enter our country illegally is unacceptable,” Blackburn said.
“I will never vote to make illegal immigration legal, and I will not support this deal. If my Democratic colleagues are serious about working with us to secure the border, they should call for a vote on the Secure the Border Act (H.R.2), which arrived in the Senate on May 15 and has languished without even a hearing,” Blackburn added.
I will never vote to make illegal immigration legal, and I will not support this deal.
— Sen. Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) February 5, 2024
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) announced the first vote on the package is scheduled for Wednesday.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Image “Senator Marsha Blackburn” by Sen. Marsha Blackburn.
