Tuberville continues effort to stop Biden border crisis
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) joined U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) and sixteen other U.S. Senate colleagues in introducing the Secure the Border Act of 2023, to combat the Biden Border Crisis. This bill is the Senate companion to legislation passed by the U.S. House of Representatives earlier this year, commonly known as H.R. 2, which would resume construction on the wall at our southern border, tighten asylum standards, criminalize visa overstays, increase the number of Border Patrol Agents, defund non-government organizations receiving tax dollars to help traffic illegal immigrants throughout the country, and prohibit the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from using its app to assist illegal immigrants.
“The crisis at our southern border gets worse with each passing day under Joe Biden’s watch,” said Senator Tuberville. “Americans are tired of sending taxpayer dollars to help other countries secure their borders, while leaving the floodgates open at ours. We are losing people every day to fentanyl and other deadly drugs that are pouring across the border. This madness must stop. I’m proud to join my Senate colleagues to introduce this legislation, and hope those on the other side of the aisle will help us address this severe national security issue.”
Joining Senators Tuberville and Cruz in the legislation are Leader Mitch McConnell (R- KY), Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Tom Cotton (R-AR), JD Vance (R-OH), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Eric Schmitt (R-MO), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), John Kennedy (R-LA), John Hoeven, (R-ND), Mike Lee (R-UT), Ted Budd (R-NC), Steve Daines (R-MT), Tim Scott (R-SC), and Katie Britt (R-AL).
Complete text for the Secure the Border Act of 2023 can be found here.
BACKGROUND:
The Secure the Border Act enacts effective border security solutions, including:
- Requiring the Department of Homeland Security to resume border wall construction.
- Increasing the number of Border Patrol Agents.
- Tightening asylum standards by restricting asylum to only aliens who present at ports of entry and by requiring aliens to prove they are “more likely than not” to qualify for their asylum claim.
- Narrowing DHS’s power to unilaterally grant parole to illegal aliens.
- Criminalizing visa overstays by making the first offense a misdemeanor punishable by up to a $1,000 fine and the second offense a felony punishable by up to a $2,000 fine and up to two years imprisonment.
- Stopping NGOs from using tax dollars to transport or lodge illegal aliens and provide illegal aliens with lawyers.
- Restricting DHS from using its CBP One app to welcome illegal aliens into the country.
- Requiring employers to use E-Verify.
- Ensuring CBP has access to the criminal history databases of all countries of origin and transit so that CBP is aware of the criminal history of illegal aliens encountered at the southern border.
Senator Tuberville supports common-sense policies that strengthen our border and national security like building the wall and reinstating the Migrant Protection Protocols, also known as the Remain in Mexico policy. Senator Tuberville has spoken about his concerns on the floor of the U.S. Senate and called on the Biden administration to act.
During his two years in the United States Senate, Senator Tuberville has made multiple visits to the southern border and worked on many legislative initiatives to secure the border, including giving law enforcement the tools needed to keep our communities safe and reforming immigration law to crack down on abuse and discourage illegal immigration.
- In March 2023, Senator Tuberville introduced the Border Safety and Security Act to protect Americans by combatting the border crisis created by President Biden’s immigration policies.
- The legislation puts more responsibility on the secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and gives increased authority to state attorneys general in holding DHS accountable if the department fails in its duty to restrict entry and detain illegal immigrants.
- Also in March 2023, Senator Tuberville cosponsored the Stopping Border Surges Act to address loopholes in our immigration system that encourage vulnerable immigrant populations to take dangerous, illegal paths of entry into the United States.
- The legislation includes reforms that would reduce unsustainable surges of illegal immigrants, strengthen our asylum process, eliminate the incentive to send children to the border; and dampen the exploitative power of coyotes and cartels.
- In 2022, Senator Tuberville introduced, for the second year in a row, the Empowering Law Enforcement Act (ELEA) to help combat the Biden administration’s nullification of U.S. immigration laws.
- Also in 2022, Senator Tuberville joined congressional colleagues in introducing a resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to dissolve a Biden administration rule that would illegally upend the process by which the U.S. government grants asylum claims.
- The rule would exacerbate the crisis at the border and encourage fraudulent asylum claims by allowing illegal border crossers who claim asylum to have their asylum application approved by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) officials instead of immigration judges.
- The rule also allows illegal border crossers claiming asylum to live in the U.S. free from detention while their application is pending.
- In 2021, Senator Tuberville introduced his first piece of legislation as U.S. Senator, which required DHS to issue notices to appear to every single person paroled or released into the U.S., after media reported on the border becoming so overrun that Customs and Border Protection officers were forced to quickly release illegal immigrants into U.S. communities with no follow up for a date in immigration court.
Senator Tommy Tuberville represents Alabama in the United States Senate and is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans’ Affairs, and HELP Committees.
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