[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5717 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5717
To address the surge in illegal border crossings along the southwest
border by establishing new ports of entry for processing migrants in
accordance with the Immigration and Nationality Act and section 362 of
the Public Health Service Act.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
October 25, 2021
Mr. Norman introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on
Homeland Security, and Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently
determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To address the surge in illegal border crossings along the southwest
border by establishing new ports of entry for processing migrants in
accordance with the Immigration and Nationality Act and section 362 of
the Public Health Service Act.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLES.
This Act may be cited as the ``Stop the Surge of Unsafe Rio Grande
Encampments Act of 2021'' or the ``Stop the SURGE Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The southwest border of the United States, particularly
near the Rio Grande Valley, has been inundated by illegal
aliens and foreign migrants in response to lenient immigration
and border policies and practices.
(2) During the first 4 months of fiscal year 2021, U.S.
Customs and Border Protection recorded between 71,946 and
78,414 monthly encounters with migrants along the southwest
border. During the first 7 full months of the Biden
Administration, such encounters increased to an average of
177,883 per month, resulting in a total of 1,541,651 such
encounters during the first 11 months of fiscal year 2021.
(3) U.S. Customs and Border Protection encounters have
increased during fiscal year 2021 in each southwest Border
Patrol Sector compared to fiscal year 2020, particularly in the
sectors along the Rio Grande River, where, as of August 2021,
there had been an increase of--
(A) 135.8 percent in the Laredo Sector;
(B) 278.7 percent in the El Paso Sector;
(C) 380.3 percent in the Big Bend Sector;
(D) 532.6 percent increase in the Del Rio Sector;
and
(E) 542.4 percent increase in the Rio Grande Valley
Sector.
(4) The number of encounters at the southwest border
between U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents and migrants
comprised the vast majority of total U.S. Customs and Border
Protection encounters nationwide during fiscal year 2021.
(5) During September 2021, an estimated 30,000 migrants
crossed through the port of entry at the City of Del Rio,
Texas, which is almost as numerous as the city's population.
All of these migrants had to be processed in accordance with
the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) and
section 362 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 265).
As many as 15,000 migrants gathered and waited to be processed
at the Del Rio port of entry in mid-September, leading to
inhumane conditions for the migrants temporarily housed under
an underpass in makeshift shelters, and serious fears and
uncertainty for the local residents.
(6) Several Federal officials have acknowledged that
officials at the Department of Homeland Security's Office of
Intelligence and Analysis, U.S. Customs and Border Protection,
and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement were aware of the
potential surge of migrants from Haiti several months before
the surge occurred, but failed to stop the impending crisis.
Instead of increasing deportations to discourage a surge of
illegal immigration, these agencies halted all deportation
flights to Haiti in the weeks leading up to the September
crisis in Del Rio, Texas.
(7) Although immigration policy is directed by the Federal
Government, the immediate effects of such large numbers of
encounters are primarily felt by the States and local
communities along the southwest border. These States and local
communities bear direct and indirect costs, and are most
impacted by the volume of individual encounters at the border.
State and local governments bear substantial costs to alleviate
concerns for citizens and migrants as a result of inadequate
Federal enforcement of existing immigration laws and border
enforcement policies. These costs include health care,
schooling, housing, and public safety expenses related to the
resettlement of new arrivals.
(8) The Governor of Texas originally declared a disaster in
34 Texas counties based on the increase in illegal immigration
at the southwest border and has since expanded the disaster
declaration to a total of 47 Texas counties, including
Brewster, Brooks, Crockett, Culberson, DeWitt, Dimmit, Edwards,
Frio, Goliad, Gonzales, Hudspeth, Jeff Davis, Jim Hogg, Kimble,
Kinney, La Salle, Lavaca, Live Oak, Maverick, McMullen,
Midland, Pecos, Presidio, Real, Terrell, Uvalde, Val Verde,
Zapata, Colorado, Crane, Galveston, Kenedy, Mason, Medina,
Throckmorton, Bee, Jackson, Schleicher, Sutton, Webb, Zavala,
Menard, Wharton, McCulloch, Refugio, Victoria, and Wilbarger
counties. The governor has deployed thousands of National Guard
and Department of Public Safety troopers to the border over the
past months in order to enforce existing Federal immigration
laws. However, significant numbers of additional foreign
migrants are still heading to the southwest border.
(9) The sheer volume of migrant crossings has overwhelmed
the capacity of Border Patrol sectors along the southwest
border. Many U.S. Border Patrol agents have been pulled from
their duties patrolling the border to help process people in
custody in the southwest Border Patrol sectors, leaving parts
of the border insufficiently guarded.
SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY.
(a) In General.--It shall be the policy of the United States for
the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Commissioner of U.S. Customs
and Border Protection, the Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration
Services, the Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and
any other Federal agencies or military officials involved in the
processing of illegal aliens and foreign migrants seeking entry or any
form of legal status in the United States to adhere to the procedures
described in subsection (b) when processing migrants in covered Border
Patrol sectors along the southwest border.
(b) Procedures.--
(1) Relocation to new ports of entry.--Any official of the
Department of Homeland Security, upon encountering any alien
who has illegally entered the United States in a covered Border
Patrol sector, shall immediately relocate such alien to any of
the new ports of entry established pursuant to section 4 and
designated for immigrant processing pursuant to section 5. Any
such encounter within the geographic boundaries of a covered
Border Patrol sector is subject to the transfer policies,
timing, and geographic limitations established under this Act.
(2) Limitations.--
(A) Processing location.--No official of the
Department of Homeland Security may exercise discretion
to process aliens encountered in a covered Border
Patrol sector under the Immigration and Nationality Act
(8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) or section 362 of the Public
Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 265) at any location
other than the new ports of entry established pursuant
to section 4 and designated for immigrant processing
pursuant to section 5.
(B) Condition for granting temporary legal
status.--No official of the Department of Homeland
Security may issue a Notice to Appear, issue a Notice
to Report, grant parole, defer action, grant asylum, or
grant any other legal authorization to remain in the
United States to any alien described in paragraph (1)
until such alien has been transferred from the covered
Border Patrol sector in which the alien was first
encountered to one of the newly created ports of entry.
(c) Covered Border Patrol Sectors.--In this Act, the term ``covered
Border Patrol sector'' means--
(1) the Big Bend Sector;
(2) the Del Rio Sector;
(3) the El Paso Sector;
(4) the Laredo Sector; and
(5) the Rio Grande Sector.
(d) Rules of Construction.--Nothing in this Act may be construed--
(1) to prohibit any Federal agency from facilitating and
conducting deportations or removals in accordance with the
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) or
section 362 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 265);
or
(2) to authorize the release or parole of any alien that is
not expressly authorized under the Immigration and Nationality
Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.).
SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF NEW PORTS OF ENTRY.
The Secretary of Homeland Security shall establish new ports of
entry in each of the following locations:
(1) Palo Alto, California.
(2) St. Helena, California.
(3) Yountville, California.
(4) Greenwich, Connecticut.
(5) Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
(6) Cambridge, Massachusetts.
(7) Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts.
(8) Nantucket, Massachusetts.
(9) Block Island, Rhode Island.
(10) Governors Island, New York.
(11) Scarsdale, New York.
(12) North Hero, Vermont.
SEC. 5. TRANSFERS FOR PROCESSING MIGRANT STATUS AND IMMIGRATION CLAIMS.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of Homeland Security, the
Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Director of
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the Director of U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and any other Federal agencies or
military officials involved in the processing of illegal aliens and
migrants seeking entry or any form of temporary or permanent legal
status in the United States shall immediately transfer aliens
encountered in any covered Border Patrol sector to a new port of entry
established pursuant to section 4, in accordance with the requirements
and directives set forth in subsection (b).
(b) Timing of Transfers.--
(1) In general.--The transfers described in subsection (a)
shall--
(A) take place immediately after an alien described
in section 3(b)(1) is encountered in any covered Border
Patrol sector; and
(B) be carried out with adequate speed to prevent
temporary encampments by migrants or aliens within any
covered Border Patrol sector.
(2) Prohibition of discretion, delays, or deferrals.--No
Federal official may exercise discretion--
(A) to delay or defer the transfer of an alien
described in section 3(b)(1) from a covered Border
Patrol sector for any purpose; or
(B) to process an application for entry or any
request for temporary or permanent legal status
received from such an alien before the completion of
the transfer required under subsection (a).
SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE.
Notwithstanding the date of the enactment of this Act, the
provisions of this Act shall be deemed to have taken effect on
September 1, 2021.
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