Biden urges Congress to pass border deal that includes aid for Ukraine and Israel

President Joe Biden urged the US Congress to unite and support an immigration bill that would also provide aid to Ukraine and Israel.

The embattled bill has already been rejected by House Republicans and is facing mounting Senate opposition.

Mr Biden blamed Donald Trump in a White House speech on Tuesday, claiming the former president would "rather weaponise this issue" than solve it.

Mr Trump and many Republicans say the bill does not go far enough.

But its supporters - including Democrats and Republicans in Congress - argue that the 370-page bill would stem the record-setting pace of undocumented immigrants at the southern US border.

If passed, the raft of reforms, long sought by conservatives, would spend hundreds of millions of dollars on border wall construction. It would also fast-track decisions on asylum cases, limit humanitarian parole, and expand the authority to deport migrants.

Perhaps most notably, it would allow the federal government to shutdown the border when migrant crossings pass a threshold of 5,000 per week.

Mr Biden said in his White House remarks that he would not avoid using that new power.

"If the bill were a law today, it would qualify to be shut down right now while we repair it," he said.

The $120bn (£95.3bn) also includes $60bn to support Ukraine in its war against Russia, and another $14bn in security assistance for Israel.

"The world is watching. They are waiting and watching what we're going to do," Mr Biden said. "We can't continue petty partisan politics."

Still, the president admitted that "all indications are this bill won't even move forward to the Senate floor", despite support of groups like the Border Patrol Union and US Chamber of Commerce.

"Why?" he asked. "A simple reason: Donald Trump. Because Donald Trump thinks it's bad for him politically."

Mr Biden claimed that the former president had spent the past 24 hours reaching out to Republicans in the House and Senate in an effort to torpedo the proposal.

He alleged that Mr Trump had threatened and tried to intimidate Republican lawmakers, "and it looks like they're caving".

The elder statesman implored them to "show some spine".

While Mr Trump has yet to comment on Mr Biden's latest address, he posted on social media earlier this week that "only a fool, or a radical left Democrat" would vote for the bill. He referred to the legislation as "a death wish for the Republican Party".

Even if the bill were to pass the Senate, which is expected to vote on Wednesday, it would likely flounder in the House. Speaker Mike Johnson already vowed it would be "dead on arrival".

The deal has also drawn the ire of immigration activists, however, who claim the administration is not meeting its campaign promises.

The president had promised to create a "fair and humane immigration system" during the 2020 election, said Erika Pinheiro, the executive director of Al Otro Lado, a group which provides legal and humanitarian support to migrants,

"Now the Democratic party has completely abandoned the pretence of caring about immigrants because they think it will help them in the next election," she added.