The House is planning to vote on their signature immigration package, the Secure the Border Act of 2023, this week. House Republicans have made immigration a focus issue this Congress and have held hearings about border security in multiple committees.
This bill has had two separate markups in the House Homeland Security and House Judiciary committees, due to disagreements among Republicans over the various provisions in the bill. However, after a back-and-forth on certain asylum provisions, the House GOP Hispanic Caucus has signed off on it. The vote will come as Title 42, the controversial policy that permits the U.S. to deny asylum and migration claims for public health reasons, is set to expire.
The Secure the Border Act would require millions of dollars of funds to be appropriated in order to beef up security at the border and place restrictions on asylum. According to the fact sheet, this legislation would:
- Force the Biden Administration to restart construction of the border wall
- Deploy technology to the southern and northern border
- Increase the number of Border Patrol agents and provide bonus pay
- Require transparency regarding illegal crossings from the Department of Homeland Security
- Strengthen current law to protect unaccompanied children from human trafficking
- End catch and release
- End abuse of executive immigration authority
- Strengthen and streamline the asylum process
In the Senate, Senators Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ.) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) have introduced a bill that would grant a temporary two-year authority to expel migrants from the United States similar to what is currently allowed under Title 42. That bill, cosponsored by Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV) and John Cornyn (R-TX), would need 60 votes to pass in the Senate and is not scheduled for a vote at this time.
