[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 608 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. RES. 608
Denouncing the Biden Administration's immigration policies.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 21, 2024
Mr. Scott of Florida (for himself, Mr. Budd, Mr. Cramer, Mrs. Capito,
Mr. Hoeven, Mrs. Blackburn, Mr. Cruz, Mr. Rubio, Mr. Hawley, Mr.
Cotton, Mr. Scott of South Carolina, Mr. Marshall, Mr. Johnson, Mr.
Braun, and Mrs. Hyde-Smith) submitted the following resolution; which
was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Denouncing the Biden Administration's immigration policies.
Whereas President Joe Biden and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro
Mayorkas have created the worst border security crisis in the history of
the United States;
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 communities within the United
States;
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 at the southwest border;
Whereas the Biden Administration retains the ability to negotiate asylum
cooperative agreements with El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras but has
refused to do so, despite historic illegal immigration at the southwest
border;
Whereas clauses (ii) and (iii)(IV) of section 235(b)(1)(B) of the Immigration
and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1225(b)(1)(B)) require the Secretary of
Homeland Security to detain inadmissible aliens arriving in the United
States who indicate either an intention to apply for asylum under
section 208 of that Act (8 U.S.C. 1158) or a fear of persecution;
Whereas the Immigration and Nationality Act provides for the Secretary of
Homeland Security to 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 only 6.8 percent of the 5,600,000 illegal alien encounters from January
20, 2021, through August 31, 2023, resulted in the Department of
Homeland Security placing the illegal alien into expedited removal
proceedings to even be screened for asylum eligibility;
Whereas roughly 40 percent of the illegal aliens who were not found to have a
credible fear of persecution were not removed and remained in the United
States as of August 31, 2023;
Whereas nearly a third of the illegal aliens who were processed for expedited
removal and who did not even attempt to make a claim for asylum cannot
be confirmed by the Biden Administration as having been removed from the
United States;
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 the Biden Administration terminated the Migrant Protection Protocols
despite their effectiveness;
Whereas the Biden Administration has purposely violated United States
immigration law by abusing discretionary case-by-case authority 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 William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection
Reauthorization Act of 2008 (Public Law 110-457; 122 Stat. 5044) 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 release 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 United States citizens
and legal immigrants for those resources;
Whereas section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(f))
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, in Trump v. Hawaii, 138 S. Ct. 2392 (2018), the Supreme Court 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 United States, 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 Senate--
(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.
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