[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 608 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






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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