[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1065 Engrossed in House (EH)]
<DOC>
H. Res. 1065
In the House of Representatives, U. S.,
March 12, 2024.
Whereas President Joe Biden and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro
Mayorkas have created the worst border security crisis in the Nation's
history;
Whereas President Biden, beginning on day one of his administration,
systematically dismantled effective border security measures and
interior immigration enforcement;
Whereas the Biden administration's open-borders policies have incentivized
nearly 9,300,000 illegal aliens from all around the world, including
criminal aliens and suspected terrorists, to arrive at the southwest
border;
Whereas the Biden administration has allowed at least 6,300,000 illegal aliens
from the southwest border to travel to American communities;
Whereas current immigration law allows for the United States to enter into
asylum cooperative agreements with other countries to allow for the
removal of certain aliens seeking asylum in the United States;
Whereas asylum cooperative agreements provide the United States with another
tool to reduce the incentives for illegal immigration;
Whereas asylum cooperative agreements increase cooperation with United States
allies in the Western Hemisphere and around the world and promote shared
responsibility;
Whereas the previous administration announced asylum cooperative agreements with
El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras;
Whereas the Biden administration suspended and terminated these asylum
cooperative agreements as part of its open-borders agenda that has
encouraged mass illegal immigration to the southwest border;
Whereas the Biden administration retains the ability to negotiate asylum
cooperative agreements with those countries but has refused to do so,
despite historic illegal immigration at the southwest border;
Whereas the Immigration and Nationality Act mandates that the Secretary of
Homeland Security detain inadmissible aliens arriving at the border who
express an intention to apply for asylum or fear of persecution;
Whereas the Immigration and Nationality Act mandates that the Secretary of
Homeland Security detain, during removal proceedings, aliens who arrive
at the border and are found to be inadmissible;
Whereas the Biden administration has purposely violated United States
immigration law by refusing to detain inadmissible aliens arriving at
the border;
Whereas, the Biden administration could comply with the mandatory detention
statutes of the Immigration and Nationality Act;
Whereas the Biden administration's purposeful violation of the mandatory
detention statutes of the Immigration and Nationality Act has resulted
in the mass release of millions of illegal aliens into United States
communities;
Whereas current immigration law allows for inadmissible aliens to be
expeditiously removed from the United States once encountered at the
border unless they establish a credible fear of persecution;
Whereas the Biden administration has released millions of illegal aliens into
the United States without even processing them for expedited removal to
be screened for asylum eligibility;
Whereas, of the 5,600,000 illegal alien encounters from January 20, 2021,
through August 31, 2023, the Department of Homeland Security placed only
6.8 percent of those illegal aliens into expedited removal proceedings
to even be screened for asylum eligibility;
Whereas, of the illegal aliens who were not found to have a credible fear of
persecution, roughly 40 percent were not removed and remained in the
United States as of August 31, 2023;
Whereas, of the illegal aliens who were processed for expedited removal and who
did not even attempt to make a claim for asylum, the Biden
administration cannot confirm removal or return from the United States
for nearly a third of those illegal aliens;
Whereas the Biden administration could expand expedited removal to more quickly
remove illegal aliens at the border and screen more illegal aliens for
asylum eligibility instead of mass releasing them into the United
States;
Whereas the Biden administration's limited use of expedited removal only
incentivizes illegal immigration and worsens the border crisis;
Whereas, despite its effectiveness, the Biden administration terminated the
Migrant Protection Protocols;
Whereas the Biden administration has purposely violated United States
immigration law by abusing discretionary case-by-case and other parole
authorities to mass parole illegal aliens who would otherwise have no
legal basis to enter and remain in the United States;
Whereas the Biden administration's proposed solution to the border crisis failed
to address catch-and-release valves such as the Flores Settlement
Agreement and the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act
that incentivize surges of unaccompanied alien children and adults
arriving with children to come to the southwest border putting
children's lives at risk;
Whereas the Biden administration could end its catch-and-release policies;
Whereas the Biden administration's proposed solutions to the border crisis did
nothing to end catch-and-release but instead mandated mass releases of
illegal aliens at the southwest border;
Whereas parks, schools, police stations, recreation centers, hotels, and
airports have been repurposed for use as shelters for illegal aliens;
Whereas the Biden administration's open-borders policies have strained State and
local social services resources as the millions of illegal aliens who
have entered since January 20, 2021, compete with Americans and legal
immigrants for those resources;
Whereas current immigration law empowers the President to ``suspend the entry of
all aliens or any class of aliens . . . or impose on the entry of aliens
any restrictions he may deem to be appropriate'' ``[w]henever the
President finds that the entry of any aliens or of any class of aliens
into the United States would be detrimental to the interests of the
United States'';
Whereas the Supreme Court has described the President's suspension of entry
authority as an authority that ``exudes deference to the President in
every clause'';
Whereas President Biden has cited his suspension of entry authority in other
instances but has refused to use that authority to address the border
crisis;
Whereas President Biden retains the power to use his suspension of entry
authority to address the border crisis;
Whereas President Biden's refusal to use his suspension of entry authority
ensures that the border stays open, endangers the homeland, and
encourages illegal immigration; and
Whereas President Biden has claimed he is powerless to address the border crisis
through executive action: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) affirms that, in order to help control the crisis at the border
that it has created, the Biden Administration has the authority to--
(A) end the catch-and-release policy;
(B) reinstate the Migrant Protection Protocols;
(C) enter into asylum cooperative agreements;
(D) end abuses of parole authority;
(E) detain inadmissible aliens;
(F) use expedited removal authority; and
(G) rein in taxpayer-funded benefits for illegal aliens;
(2) affirms that the Biden Administration is refusing to use such
authorities; and
(3) urges the Biden Administration to immediately begin using such
authorities.
Attest:
Clerk.