Sen. Lankford urges conservative critics 'not to believe' leaks of alleged border deal

Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., attempted to calm critics of alleged leaked details from the border deal that he helped negotiate, telling voters "not to believe everything" they read on the Internet.

"A lie will go round the world while truth is pulling its boots on. -Charles Haddon Spurgeon 1855," Lankford wrote on X Tuesday. "I encourage people to read the border security bill before they judge the border security bill. I also advise people not to believe everything you read on the internet," he added.

Lankford was referencing reports on leaks claiming that the negotiated border deal includes allowing 5,000 immigrants per day to enter the U.S. and issuing work permits to migrants who U.S. authorities release into the U.S. from the border.

The source behind the leaks was the conservative Immigration Accountability Project, who tagged Lankford in a post about details they claimed were part of the border agreement. 

A Republican source close to the border negotiations told Just the News that the official legislative text of the border deal has not been made public yet. It is unclear how the IAP obtained the leaked draft.

The Biden administration asked Congress in October to pass a $106 billion supplemental foreign aid package that includes funding for Ukraine, Israel, support for Palestinian refugees and U.S. border security funding. 

Negotiators are still hashing out the details of a potential package. Meanwhile, conservatives were highly critical of the leaked draft that prompted Lankford's post on X.

House Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., who is presiding over the impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas at the committee level in the House, was asked what he wants to see for the border as part of the supplemental foreign aid package. "We need to shut the southern border and that means no dollars for any additional immigrants that come across the southern border, 100%," he said.

Green specified that he's okay with certain exceptions, such as a "humanitarian need" like a child that needs to go to a hospital so "you parole the parent for just 24 days to come in."

Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., described the apparent "Schumer-Lankford" border agreement as a deal for illegal aliens and not Americans.

"We need to be securing the border and removing illegal aliens from our country—not giving illegal aliens work permits and taxpayer-funded lawyers," Biggs wrote on X.

The leaks caught the attention of House Speaker Johnson, R-La., who wrote "absolutely not" on social media in reference to the contents of the alleged deal that was struck.