Dems run on border bill Republicans say 'was never designed to solve the problem'

The immigration bill being used by vulnerable Democrats as evidence of their commitment to border security has been trashed by Republican senators, who claim the measure would have actually exacerbated the crisis at the southern border. 

"That bill was awful. It killed itself," Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., told Fox News Digital on Thursday of the bill that was negotiated by Sens. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., and James Lankford, R-Okla. 

"I'm not aware of anybody that Trump called," he added, with another GOP senator seconding this. 

After former President Donald Trump himself came out against the measure, Democrats accused him of being responsible for its ultimate demise, and he further welcomed their blame. But several Republican senators said the bill was essentially dead on arrival, with or without Trump's input. 

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Republicans say the bill promoted primarily by Senate Democrats would actually make the border crisis worse. (Reuters)

Republican senators prompted by Fox News Digital in the spring about Trump's involvement in lobbying against the border bill also denied that the former president was making calls. 

On Thursday, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital the bill was terrible. "Chuck Schumer drafted it. He drafted it with the objective of keeping the current open borders open in perpetuity," he claimed.

Cruz listed concerns with the measure, including that it "codified catch and release. The bill provided immediate work permits to illegal aliens when they came here. The bill provided taxpayer-funded attorneys to illegal aliens. The bill gave billions of dollars to sanctuary cities and NGOs that are aiding with human-traffickers and the bill normalized 5,000 illegal immigrants a day." 

"It was never designed to solve the problem," he said.

As the Texas senator referenced, the bill would have expanded what are known as alternatives to detention (ATD) for those who enter the country illegally, make work permits immediately available for those who pass initial asylum screenings, provide funding for attorneys to represent some unaccompanied minors, and would have established a threshold of an average of 5,000 border crossings a day for one week before ushering in a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) emergency authority that would bar illegal immigrants from entering the country between ports of entry. 

He also pointed to the fact that chief Democrat negotiator, Murphy, wrote of the bill on X that, "The border never closes, but claims must be processed at the ports."

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Murphy didn't respond to Republican suggestions that his bill would have made the border worse and said it was false that it would have codified catch and release or that it would not actually ever shut down the border. "Those are not true," he told Fox News Digital on Thursday.

The bill faced its first procedural vote in February as part of a supplemental spending deal that also included funding for aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. The vote was 49-50, failing to garner the necessary 60 votes to move forward. A supplemental foreign aid package ultimately passed without the border measure. 

"There were a lot of good things in that bill, but in the end, we did not address the one thing that I think is a legitimate argument: That's trust in this administration to implement it," Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., told reporters on Thursday. 

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Cruz slammed the bill and its Democratic author, Sen. Murphy. (Getty Images)

Lankford, along with Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, Mitt Romney, R-Utah, and Susan Collins, R-Maine, were the only Republicans to vote in favor of the negotiated bill in February. 

Senate Democrats revived the bill for a second procedural vote in May, which failed again by a worse margin. Two of the three negotiators, Sinema and Lankford, voted against it in the ultimate 43-50 vote. Both Romney and Collins also voted against advancing it in the second vote.

Collins told Fox News Digital on Thursday, "I don't think it was the be all and end all, but I think it would have helped."

Democrats running for Senate have panned their Republican counterparts for coming out against the negotiated bill, and have used their support for it during their respective campaigns to demonstrate that they will work to address the border. 

For example, Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., who is embroiled in what is considered one of the most competitive races in the country, referenced his support of the measure in an April ad that said, "Jon Tester worked with Republicans, fighting to shut down the border, target fentanyl traffickers, and add hundreds of new border patrol agents."

Democrats in Senate races are not the only ones using this bill to their advantage. Vice President Kamala Harris is campaigning on signing the bill into law if she is elected president in November. 

As for whether Democrats' advocacy for the bill will resonate with voters, Collins told Fox News Digital it won't. "The president did absolutely nothing by way of executive orders or of really pushing that bill for years. He created the crisis," she said of President Biden. 

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Tillis said he didn't trust Biden and Harris to implement the law. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Tillis noted that Biden and Harris "conveniently leave out how they haven't enforced existing laws."

He characterized Republican discussions regarding the negotiated bill, explaining, "There were people that were saying, 'I don't mind the policy. I just don't think you'll execute.'" 

Romney reiterated his disagreement with some of his conference members on the measure, suggesting they are doing their "best to provide an excuse for a very unfortunate vote."

According to him, Trump was "of course" responsible for its failure. 

Lankford's office declined to provide comment to Fox News Digital. 

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Julia Johnson is a politics writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business, leading coverage of the U.S. Senate. She was previously a politics reporter at the Washington Examiner. 

Follow Julia's reporting on X at @JuliaaJohnson_ and send tips to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..