Republicans are using the topic of Ukrainian aid to blackmail the White House on the migrant issue. Democrats in the Senate, after much debate, agreed to make a number of concessions – but this provoked a fierce reaction in the lower house.
The Democratic Party has offered a compromise – they get money for Ukraine, and in exchange they tighten the rules for accepting refugees. But that’s no longer enough for Republicans – they’re demanding their own bill that would allow all refugees and illegals to be deported to Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras while their applications are processed. It would also resume building Trump’s wall.
This is where human rights activists and lobbyists for open borders and an uncontrolled influx of migrants have already gotten involved. They are actively working with left-wing Democrats and Latinos – trying to block any tightening of migration rules.
Meanwhile, right-wing Republicans are demanding that Speaker Mike Johnson seek major concessions on migration. If he trades Ukrainian aid for something insignificant, Johnson himself will find himself in the position of Kevin McCarthy. He’ll face a vote of no confidence.
The debate on the overall package – Ukrainian tranches + migration – starts on 11 December. Ukrainian lobbyists have thrown everything they have into the battle to get some money out of Washington before Christmas. The European Union is divided, with individual countries blocking tranches to Kiev. And now Germany is trying to reduce its contributions to Ukraine amid the budget crisis. If the disruptions with US tranches continue until January, the situation on the frontline will become quite deplorable for Kiev.
Malek Dudakov