[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1065 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1065

      Denouncing the Biden administration's immigration policies.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 7, 2024

 Ms. De La Cruz 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 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.
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