Senator Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) is working with Senators Chris Murphy (D-CT) and James Lankford (R-OK) on the negotiations over border security measures in the aid package for Ukraine and Israel.

Republicans are insisting that the southern border receive the funding necessary to secure the border if additional funding is going to other countries. Senator Sinema said Thursday that Congress must negotiate a legislative agreement on immigration, as she cited the humanitarian crisis that has been created along the U.S.-Mexico border.

“My opinion is that we must work until we find the solution because failure is not an option here,” Sinema said in an interview with NBC News when asked if the Senate should remain in Washington until a deal has been reached.

Sinema stressed the importance of fighting Putin while protecting and supporting Israel, our biggest ally in the Middle East. She is non-committal in saying whether or not the emergency spending measure that provides U.S. support to Israel and Ukraine will pass before the politicians leave for the holiday break.

“I’m not interested in debating the timelines,” she said. “What I am interested in doing is moving the process forward. And what I’ve demonstrated in my five years in the United States Senate is that I have a proven track record of bringing disparate interests and groups together, finding common ground, and moving forward with bipartisan solutions. So the timeline is not a question for me.”

Sinema declined to share details about the talks among lawmakers, including those that have been reported by NBC News “because I want to get us to an agreement.”

“What I will say is that all the options that are on the table and under discussion right now are realistic and pragmatic options and folks have a lot of emotions about them,” she said. “But the reality is, is that these are realistic and pragmatic options that solve the crisis and allow us to move forward.”

Some of the points being negotiated include an expansion of expulsion authorities and increased migrant detention. There is still no agreement but on Wednesday there seemed to be some progress being made. When Congress leaves for its break, it isn’t expected to return until January.

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus and Democrats complain that increasing security at the border is “unimaginably cruel.” Sinema says the opposite is true. It is more cruel to allow the humanitarian crisis to continue.

“Well, what’s unimaginably cruel are the folks and the images that we see of folks and families sitting in the desert … down at Lukeville there are individuals who are sitting out in the desert without access to restrooms, without access to food and without water, simply waiting to be processed by Customs and Border Patrol.”

She is right, of course. It is good to hear about a reasonable Democrat (though she is an Independent, she still caucuses with Senate Democrats and votes for Biden’s agenda) who understands that lawlessness is not compassionate. Sinema says she has a good relationship with Speaker Johnson, a relationship established during her time serving in the House. She hopes to work with him on the issue.

I hope that Republicans hold their ground. This is a perfect time to use the leverage of foreign aid to Ukraine and Israel to get proper resources to the southern border. The situation is increasingly dangerous at the border, not just for Border Patrol agents but for Americans in general. With 10,000 illegal border crossers a day, it is impossible to vet them all. Releasing them into the interior of the country puts everyone at risk. Not to mention the gotaways and those who show up on the terror watch list.

Biden’s dereliction of duty on the border is a national security risk. He should be impeached for that.