Draft:Emergency National Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2024

The Emergency National Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2024 is a proposed act of Congress.

Following months of negotiations, on February 4, 2024, a bipartisan group of senators released a proposal that would sharply reduce incentives for migrants to attempt border crossings. The proposal included a "border emergency" provision that would automatically require the border to be closed if crossings reached an average of 5,000 per day over several days. It also provided for a tighter asylum application and approval process, with speedy removal of migrants who do not qualify. The plan included hiring thousands more border patrol and asylum officers, and increasing detention capacity. It also provided for thousands of work visas for migrant spouses of U.S. citizens awaiting immigrant visas. President Biden supported the proposal, while Speaker Mike Johnson said days before its release that it would be "dead on arrival" in the Republican-controlled House. Shortly after the proposal was announced, House majority leader Steve Scalise declared it would not be brought before the House for a vote. One senate negotiator, Kyrsten Sinema, asserted the border would have been closed every day so far in 2024 if the proposal had been law; Biden promised in January that he would immediately close the border if the proposal was enacted. During negotiations, 2024 presidential candidate Donald Trump publicly and privately pressured Republicans to oppose the proposal, in part because he wanted to use the border crisis as a campaign issue against Biden.