Senators release border-Ukraine deal that would allow the president to pause U.S. asylum law and quickly deport migrants

Washington — A trio of senators on Sunday released a bipartisan immigration agreement with the White House that would give the president far-reaching powers to clamp down on unlawful border crossings, including the authority to turn away migrants without allowing them to request asylum.

The deal, which has been months in the making, would overhaul American border policy by restricting access to the asylum system during spikes in illegal immigration, making it harder for migrants to pass initial asylum screenings and ramping up deportations of those found to be ineligible for U.S. refuge. The agreement would preserve asylum processing at official border crossings and allow migrants who pass their asylum interviews to work in the U.S. legally.

The agreement was negotiated by Republican Sen. James Lankford, Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy, independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema and top Biden administration officials after Republican lawmakers demanded restrictions to U.S. asylum law in exchange for supporting more military aid to Ukraine. If enacted, the bipartisan compromise would be the first major update to the U.S. immigration system since the 1990s, the last time Congress passed a large-scale immigration law.