Senate, House on collision course on border money

WASHINGTON - Senate Democrats prepared Tuesday to cut $1 billion from President Obama's emergency spending request for the border, while leaving out policy changes Republicans have demanded as their price for agreeing to any money. The developments pointed to a hardening stalemate over the crisis in South Texas with lawmakers preparing to leave Washington for their annual summer recess at the end of next week.

Legislation being completed by Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Barbara A. Mikulski would spend $2.7 billion for more immigration judges, detention facilities, and other resources for the Mexican border, where unaccompanied children are arriving by the tens of thousands from Central America. It also would include $225 million for Israel's Iron Dome, designed to intercept short-range rockets and mortars, as Israel battles Hamas extremists, and $615 million to fight wildfires raging in the West.

Yet the money for wildfires and for Israel appeared unlikely to sweeten the deal enough for Republicans to swallow it absent legal changes to allow the Central American children to be turned around fast at the border and sent back home.

"We insist on having the 2008 law repealed as part of it, and they're not willing to do that," said Sen. John McCain (R., Ariz.).

Said Sen. John Cornyn (R., Texas): "Unfortunately, it looks like we're on a track to do absolutely nothing."

Senate Democratic aides said the smaller spending bill, which could come to the floor to a vote next week, aimed to include enough money to handle the border crisis through the end of this calendar year.

"I'm always willing to compromise, but not if it means taking away that element of the 2008 law and simply saying, Well you can round them up and ship them back without any questions," said Sen. Tom Harkin (D., Iowa).

Senate Democrats' legislation puts them on a collision course with Republicans who control the House.

The 2008 law guarantees judicial hearings for unaccompanied youths arriving here from Central America, which in practice allows them to stay in this country for years because of major backlogs in the immigration court system.

Republicans want the law changed so that unaccompanied Central American children can be treated like those from Mexico, who can be sent back by Border Patrol agents unless they can demonstrate a fear of return that necessitates further screening.

Meanwhile, the Homeland Security Department said Tuesday it arrested 192 people along the border on immigrant-smuggling charges and seized more than $625,000, part of the administration's efforts to discourage the flood of people crossing the border illegally.