The Oklahoma Republican Party has censured Sen. James Lankford for his persistent efforts to reach a bipartisan agreement on borders that would combine increased border protection with fresh financing for Israel and Ukraine. Condemning & Censuring Senator Lanford's Open Border Deal is the resolution that the Oklahoma GOP State Committee unveiled on Saturday.
For his "recent collaboration with Democrat Senator Charles Schumer on an open border arrangement to enable 5,000 illegal immigrants a day to come and work in the United States," the senior senator from the state is being censured in the resolution. The party claims that there is a clear clash between the GOP's ideals and the "open border pact."
"We reject a 'road to citizenship' that would expedite the naturalization of illegal aliens relative to lawful immigration in the United States."
The agreement would give the Department of Homeland Security additional policies and authority to address the continuous stream of unauthorized border crossings along the southern border. CNN broke the story first. A key component of the plan would grant DHS emergency power to close the border in the event that illegal crossings exceed specific thresholds: 4,000 illegal entries on average per day over the course of a week (with an expedited option once daily averages reach 5,000) and 8,500 illegal entries in a single day.
When the border is closed in this manner, it will not be reopened until crossings have dropped well below the daily average for at least two weeks. During this time, anybody caught trying to cross the border illegally more than twice will be prohibited from entering the United States for a year. The proposal would also restrict the authority to release immigrants on parole while hastening the asylum application process, cutting the review time from years to six months.
"It would provide me further emergency powers as President to close the border in the event of a crisis. And the day I sign the measure into law, I would exercise that power if granted it.
The Oklahoma GOP, on the other hand, claims that Lankford and this agreement are endangering the security of Oklahomans and does not believe that his sincere efforts at compromise show a dedication to state security.
The resolution goes on, "The Oklahoma Republican Party will suspend all support for Senator Lankford until he ceases from these activities." In an effort to turn Biden's handling of the border crisis into a significant wedge issue over the next ten months, former President Donald Trump has been lobbying Republicans to reject the agreement, which is why the party is moving against its senior senator.
Despite the fact that House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, has deemed the agreement "dead on arrival" in the House, Senate Republicans are now endorsing the bill again in light of Democratic concessions on tougher border controls.
On Face the Nation Sunday, Lankford said, "[We] Do not have a vote count on this, because everyone needs to be able to read it to go through." "But even the early reaction has been fantastic, so I feel quite happy about it."
In a Senate GOP meeting on Thursday, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., clarified that he still supports a deal that ties border security to aid for Ukraine and Israel, despite appearing to sabotage support for the deal on Wednesday in response to Trump's vehement campaign against it (which also incited wrath from some Senate Republicans).
Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., told Politico, "For me that was very illuminating." "He made it very clear that he has supported Senator Lankford's attempts to negotiate and that we need to back any outcome that results in increased border security."
For his "recent collaboration with Democrat Senator Charles Schumer on an open border arrangement to enable 5,000 illegal immigrants a day to come and work in the United States," the senior senator from the state is being censured in the resolution. The party claims that there is a clear clash between the GOP's ideals and the "open border pact."
"We reject a 'road to citizenship' that would expedite the naturalization of illegal aliens relative to lawful immigration in the United States."
The agreement would give the Department of Homeland Security additional policies and authority to address the continuous stream of unauthorized border crossings along the southern border. CNN broke the story first. A key component of the plan would grant DHS emergency power to close the border in the event that illegal crossings exceed specific thresholds: 4,000 illegal entries on average per day over the course of a week (with an expedited option once daily averages reach 5,000) and 8,500 illegal entries in a single day.
When the border is closed in this manner, it will not be reopened until crossings have dropped well below the daily average for at least two weeks. During this time, anybody caught trying to cross the border illegally more than twice will be prohibited from entering the United States for a year. The proposal would also restrict the authority to release immigrants on parole while hastening the asylum application process, cutting the review time from years to six months.
"It would provide me further emergency powers as President to close the border in the event of a crisis. And the day I sign the measure into law, I would exercise that power if granted it.
The Oklahoma GOP, on the other hand, claims that Lankford and this agreement are endangering the security of Oklahomans and does not believe that his sincere efforts at compromise show a dedication to state security.
The resolution goes on, "The Oklahoma Republican Party will suspend all support for Senator Lankford until he ceases from these activities." In an effort to turn Biden's handling of the border crisis into a significant wedge issue over the next ten months, former President Donald Trump has been lobbying Republicans to reject the agreement, which is why the party is moving against its senior senator.
Despite the fact that House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, has deemed the agreement "dead on arrival" in the House, Senate Republicans are now endorsing the bill again in light of Democratic concessions on tougher border controls.
On Face the Nation Sunday, Lankford said, "[We] Do not have a vote count on this, because everyone needs to be able to read it to go through." "But even the early reaction has been fantastic, so I feel quite happy about it."
In a Senate GOP meeting on Thursday, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., clarified that he still supports a deal that ties border security to aid for Ukraine and Israel, despite appearing to sabotage support for the deal on Wednesday in response to Trump's vehement campaign against it (which also incited wrath from some Senate Republicans).
Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., told Politico, "For me that was very illuminating." "He made it very clear that he has supported Senator Lankford's attempts to negotiate and that we need to back any outcome that results in increased border security."
