[House Report 117-487]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


117th Congress    }                                   {     Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session       }                                   {     117-487

======================================================================

 
 RESOLUTION OF INQUIRY DIRECTING THE SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY TO 
      PROVIDE CERTAIN DOCUMENTS IN HIS POSSESSION TO THE HOUSE OF 
REPRESENTATIVES RELATING TO IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT AND BORDER SECURITY

                                _______
                                

 September 22, 2022.--Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be 
                                printed

                                _______
                                

    Mr. Nadler, from the Committee on the Judiciary, submitted the 
                               following

                             ADVERSE REPORT

                             together with

                             MINORITY VIEWS

                      [To accompany H. Res. 1241]

    The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the 
resolution (H. Res. 1241) of inquiry directing the Secretary of 
Homeland Security to provide certain documents in his 
possession to the House of Representatives relating to 
immigration enforcement and border security, having considered 
the same, report unfavorably thereon with an amendment and 
recommend that the resolution not be agreed to.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
Purpose and Summary..............................................     2
Background and Need for the Legislation..........................     3
Hearings.........................................................     4
Committee Consideration..........................................     4
Committee Votes..................................................     4
Committee Oversight Findings.....................................     6
Committee Estimate of Budgetary Effects..........................     6
New Budget Authority and Congressional Budget Office Cost 
  Estimate.......................................................     6
Duplication of Federal Programs..................................     6
Performance Goals and Objectives.................................     6
Advisory on Earmarks.............................................     6
Section-by-Section Analysis......................................     6
Minority Views...................................................     7

    The amendment is as follows:
  Strike all after the resolving clause and insert the 
following:

 That the Secretary of Homeland Security of the United States is 
directed to transmit to the House of Representatives, not later than 
fourteen days after the date of adoption of this resolution, copies of 
any document, record, audio recording, memorandum, call log, 
correspondence (electronic or otherwise), or other communication in his 
possession, or any portion of any document, record, audio recording, 
memorandum, call log, correspondence (electronic or otherwise), or 
other communication, that refers or relates to the following:
          (1) The number of illegal aliens on the no-fly list or the 
        Federal Bureau of Investigation's Terrorist Screening Database 
        who have been encountered by United States Government personnel 
        at the southwest border, between ports of entry since January 
        20, 2021.
          (2) The number of illegal aliens on the no-fly list or the 
        Federal Bureau of Investigation's Terrorist Screening Database 
        who have been encountered by United States Government personnel 
        at the southwest border, between ports of entry since January 
        20, 2021, and were subsequently released into the interior of 
        the United States.
          (3) The nationality of, and a description of the conduct for 
        which, each alien on the no-fly list or the Federal Bureau of 
        Investigation's Terrorist Screening Database who has been 
        encountered by United States Government personnel at the 
        southwest border, between ports of entry, and subsequently 
        released in the United States, was placed on the no-fly list or 
        the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Terrorist Screening 
        Database.
          (4) Of the aliens described in paragraph (1) who were placed 
        into U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention, the 
        length of detention and location of detention for each alien.
          (5) Of the aliens described in paragraph (1), the number 
        expelled pursuant to section 362 of the Public Health Service 
        Act (42 U.S.C. 265), ordered removed, granted voluntary 
        departure, removed pursuant to expedited removal, removed 
        pursuant to a reinstated removal order, and the country to 
        which each was removed.
          (6) Of the aliens described in paragraph (1), the number 
        referred to the Department of Justice for prosecution under 
        section 275(a) or 276(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act 
        (8 U.S.C. 1325(a); 8 U.S.C. 1326(a)).
          (7) The current status of each case for aliens described in 
        paragraph (1) who are still in the United States.

                          Purpose and Summary

    H. Res. 1241 is a resolution of inquiry directing the 
Secretary of Homeland Security to provide certain documents in 
his possession to the House of Representatives relating to 
immigration enforcement and border security.
    Representative Tom McClintock (R-CA) introduced the 
resolution on July 20, 2022, and it currently has no 
cosponsors.
    H. Res. 1241 directs the Secretary of Homeland Security of 
the United States to transmit to the House of Representatives, 
not later than fourteen days after the date of adoption of the 
resolution, copies of any document, record, audio recording, 
memorandum, call log, correspondence (electronic or otherwise), 
or other communication in his possession, or any portion of any 
document, record, audio recording, memorandum, call log, 
correspondence (electronic or otherwise), or other 
communication, that refers or relates to the following:
    (1) The number of ``illegal aliens'' on the no-fly list or 
the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Terrorist Screening 
Database who have been encountered by United States Government 
personnel at the southwest border, between ports of entry since 
January 20, 2021.
    (2) The number of ``illegal aliens'' on the no-fly list or 
the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) Terrorist Screening 
Database who have been encountered by United States Government 
personnel at the southwest border, between ports of entry since 
January 20, 2021, and were subsequently released into the 
interior of the United States.
    (3) The nationality of, and a description of the conduct 
for which, each noncitizen on the no-fly list or the FBI's 
Terrorist Screening Database who has been encountered by United 
States Government personnel at the southwest border, between 
ports of entry, and subsequently released in the United States, 
was placed on the no-fly list or the FBI's Terrorist Screening 
Database.
    (4) Of the individuals described in paragraph (1) who were 
placed into U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention, 
the length of detention and location of detention for each 
alien.
    (5) Of the individuals described in paragraph (1), the 
number expelled pursuant to section 362 of the Public Health 
Service Act (42 U.S.C. 265), ordered removed, granted voluntary 
departure, removed pursuant to expedited removal, removed 
pursuant to a reinstated removal order, and the country to 
which each was removed.
    (6) Of the individuals described in paragraph (1), the 
number referred to the Department of Justice for prosecution 
under section 275(a) or 276(a) of the Immigration and 
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1325(a);8 U.S.C. 1326(a)).
    (7) The current status of each case for individuals 
described in paragraph (1) who are still in the United States.

                Background and Need for the Legislation


                I. BACKGROUND ON RESOLUTIONS OF INQUIRY

    Under the rules and precedents of the House, a resolution 
of inquiry is used to obtain information from the executive 
branch. A resolution of inquiry is directed at the President of 
the United States or the head of a cabinet-level agency, 
requesting facts within the control of the executive branch.\1\ 
As a ``simple resolution,'' designated by ``H. Res.,'' a 
resolution of inquiry does not carry the force of law. 
``Compliance by the executive branch with the House's request 
is voluntary, resting largely on a sense of comity between co-
equal branches of government and a recognition of the necessity 
for Congress to be well-informed as it legislates.''\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\Christopher M. Davis, Resolutions of Inquiry: An Analysis of 
Their Use in the House, 1947-2011, Cong. Res. Serv. R40879 (May 15, 
2012).
    \2\Id. at 2.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    House Rules afford resolutions of inquiry a privileged 
parliamentary status. A member files a resolution of inquiry 
like any other legislation. The resolution is then referred to 
the proper committee of jurisdiction and the committee may: (1) 
report the resolution either favorably or unfavorably; or (2) 
choose not to report the resolution. If the committee does not 
report the resolution to the House within 14 legislative days 
of its introduction, however, a motion to discharge the 
resolution from committee can be made on the House floor.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \3\House rule XIII, clause 7.
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                      II. NEED FOR THE LEGISLATION

    This resolution is unnecessary. The Minority has had no 
problem obtaining briefings or information on this issue. Just 
last year, Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy asked for, and 
received, a classified briefing related to allegedly concerning 
individuals apprehended along the U.S.-Mexico border.\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \4\Brooke Singman, McCarthy Briefed on Classified Memo About Terror 
Suspects Caught at Mexico Border: `National Security Crisis,' Fox News 
(May 18, 2021), https://www.foxnews.com/politics/mccarthy-brief-
classified-memo-suspected-terrorists-mexico-border-national-security.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Further, in July, the Biden Administration began posting 
some of the requested data publicly on the Customs and Border 
Protection (CBP) website. Currently on CBP's website, the 
public can see the number of individuals encountered by Border 
Patrol who are on the FBI's Terrorist Screening Database for 
the last five and half fiscal years.\5\ This fiscal year, 
sixty-six people on the Screening Database have been 
encountered by Border Patrol on the Northern and Southern 
border.\6\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \5\CBP Enforcement Statistics Fiscal Year 2022, Customs and Border 
Protection (accessed Sep. 15, 2022), https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/
stats/cbp-enforcement-statistics.
    \6\Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                                Hearings

    For the purposes of clause 3(c)(6)(A) of House rule XIII, 
the Committee held no hearings on H. Res. 1241.

                        Committee Consideration

    On September 14, 2022, the Committee met in open session 
and ordered the resolution, H. Res. 1241, unfavorably reported 
with an amendment in the nature of a substitute, by a rollcall 
vote of 19 to 16, a quorum being present.

                            Committee Votes

    In compliance with clause 3(b) of House rule XIII, the 
following rollcall votes occurred during the Committee's 
consideration of H. Res. 1241:
    1. A motion to unfavorably report H. Res. 1241, as amended, 
was agreed to by a rollcall vote of 19 to 16. The vote was as 
follows:


	[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

                      Committee Oversight Findings

    In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of House rule XIII, the 
Committee advises that the findings and recommendations of the 
Committee, based on oversight activities under clause 2(b)(1) 
of House rule X, are incorporated in the descriptive portions 
of this report.

                Committee Estimate of Budgetary Effects

    Pursuant to clause 3(d)(1) of House rule XIII, the 
Committee adopts as its own the cost estimate prepared by the 
Director of the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 
402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.

   New Budget Authority and Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate

    Pursuant to clause 3(c)(2) of House rule XIII and section 
308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, and pursuant to 
clause (3)(c)(3) of House rule XIII and section 402 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has requested 
but not received from the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office a budgetary analysis and a cost estimate of this 
resolution.

                    Duplication of Federal Programs

    Pursuant to clause 3(c)(5) of House rule XIII, no provision 
of H. Res. 1241 establishes or reauthorizes a program of the 
federal government known to be duplicative of another federal 
program.

                    Performance Goals and Objectives

    The Committee states that pursuant to clause 3(c)(4) of 
House rule XIII, H. Res 1241 requests certain documents from 
the Secretary of Homeland Security related to immigration 
enforcement and border security.

                          Advisory on Earmarks

    In accordance with clause 9 of House rule XXI, H. Res. 1241 
does not contain any congressional earmarks, limited tax 
benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in clause 9(d), 
9(e), or 9(f) of House rule XXI.

                      Section-by-Section Analysis

    The following discussion describes the resolution as 
reported by the Committee.
    H. Res. 1241 directs the Secretary of Homeland Security of 
the United States to transmit to the House of Representatives, 
not later than fourteen days after the date of adoption of the 
resolution, copies of any document, record, audio recording, 
memorandum, call log, correspondence (electronic or otherwise), 
or other communication in his possession, or any portion of any 
document, record, audio recording, memorandum, call log, 
correspondence (electronic or otherwise), or other 
communication, that refers or relates to the following:
    (1) The number of ``illegal aliens'' on the no-fly list or 
the FBI's Terrorist Screening Database who have been 
encountered by United States Government personnel at the 
southwest border, between ports of entry since January 20, 
2021.
    (2) The number of ``illegal aliens'' on the no-fly list or 
the FBI's who have been encountered by United States Government 
personnel at the southwest border, between ports of entry since 
January 20, 2021, and were subsequently released into the 
interior of the United States.
    (3) The nationality of, and a description of the conduct 
for which, each alien on the no-fly list or the FBI's Terrorist 
Screening Database who has been encountered by United States 
Government personnel at the southwest border, between ports of 
entry, and subsequently released in the United States, was 
placed on the no-fly list or the Federal Bureau of 
Investigation's Terrorist Screening Database.
    (4) Of the aliens described in paragraph (1) who were 
placed into U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention, 
the length of detention and location of detention for each 
alien.
    (5) Of the aliens described in paragraph (1), the number 
expelled pursuant to section 362 of the Public Health Service 
Act (42 U.S.C. 265), ordered removed, granted voluntary 
departure, removed pursuant to expedited removal, removed 
pursuant to a reinstated removal order, and the country to 
which each was removed.
    (6) Of the aliens described in paragraph (1), the number 
referred to the Department of Justice for prosecution under 
section 275(a) or 276(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act 
(8 U.S.C. 1325(a); 8 U.S.C. 1326(a)).
    (7) The current status of each case for aliens described in 
paragraph (1) who are still in the United States.

                             Minority Views

    H. Res. 1241 directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to 
provide Congress with documents, communications, and other 
information in his possession regarding illegal aliens 
encountered by U.S. Government personnel between ports of entry 
along the southwest border since January 20, 2021, who are 
listed on the no-fly list or in the Terrorist Screening 
Database.
    Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee continue to 
ignore the unprecedented crisis on our southwest border. Since 
President Biden took office, U.S. Customs and Border Protection 
(CBP) officials have encountered nearly 3.5 million illegal 
aliens along the southwest border.\1\ Nearly one million of 
those aliens have been released into the U.S. by the Department 
of Homeland Security (DHS) pursuant to DHS policy.\2\ At the 
same time, nearly a million illegal alien ``gotaways'' have 
successfully crossed the border undetected during the Biden-
Harris Administration.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Southwest Land Border 
Encounters, https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/southwest-land-border-
encounters.
    \2\Texas v. Biden, Case No: 2:21-cv-00067-Z (N.D. Texas) (Brief For 
America First Legal Foundation As Amicus Curiae In Support of 
Respondents, Defendants' Monthly Report For March 2022, Defendants' 
Monthly Report For April 2022).
    \3\Adam Shaw, Bill Melugin, Migrant Encounters at Southern Border 
Hit New Record in May, as Numbers Keep Rising, Fox News (Jun. 16, 2022) 
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/migrant-encounters-southern-border-
record-may.
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    As of the end of July, during FY 22, U.S. Border Patrol had 
encountered 66 illegal aliens between ports of entry on the 
southwest border who were listed on the Terrorist Screening 
Database.\4\ This is 51 more than all of last fiscal year, and 
is exponentially more than in any other recent fiscal year.\5\ 
There is no doubt that even more potential terrorists have 
crossed illegally into the U.S. as known gotaways or without 
being detected by Border Patrol. The Biden Administration's lax 
immigration policies have put Americans in harm's way.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \4\U.S. Customs and Border Protection, CBP enforcement Statistics, 
Terrorist Screening Dataset Encounters, https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/
stats/cbp-enforcement-statistics.
    \5\Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    In April 2021, news reports emerged that two men from Yemen 
had been arrested at the southwest border who were identified 
on the terrorism watch list.\6\ In August 2021, ``the head of 
the Border Patrol, Rodney Scott, told his 19,000 agents before 
retiring on August 14 that their national security mission is 
paramount right now despite the Biden administration's focus on 
migrant families and children . . . .''\7\ Scott went onto tell 
the agents, ``it is a national security crisis. Immigration is 
just a subcomponent of it, and right now, it's just a cover for 
the massive amounts of smuggling going on across the southwest 
border--to include [aliens on the Terrorist Screening Database] 
at a level we have never seen before. That's a real 
threat.''\8\ In January 2022, Scott told the Texas Public 
Policy Foundation during a panel discussion that ``U.S. Border 
Patrol agents stopped 14 noncitizens who were named on the 
terror watchlist and tried to sneak into the United States 
between October 2020 and August 2021 . . . .''\9\
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    \6\Yemeni Nationals On Terror Watch List Arrested At California-
Mexico Border, CBS Los Angeles (Apr. 5, 2021), https://www.cbsnews.com/
losangeles/news/border-patrol-arrest-yemeni-
terror-watch-list/.
    \7\Anna Giaritelli, Suspected terrorists crossing border `at a 
level we have never seen before,' outgoing Border Patrol chief says, 
Yahoo! News (Aug. 16, 2021), https://news.yahoo.com/suspected-
terrorists-crossing-border-level-174700735.html.
    \8\Id.
    \9\Anna Giaritelli, 14 illegal immigrants on terror watchlist 
stopped at border in 2021, former Border Patrol chief says, Washington 
Examiner (Jan 24, 2022), https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/14-
illegal-immigrants-on-terror-watchlist-stopped-at-
border-in-2021-former-border-patrol-chief.
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    On January 27, 2022, an investigative journalist for 
Deadline Detroit told Fox News that ``a Lebanese-born national 
listed on the FBI's terror watchlist was released into the 
United States after crossing the border illegally.''\10\
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    \10\Yael Halon, Venezuelan National on FBI's Terror Watchlist 
Released Into Michigan After Crossing Border: LeDuff (Jan. 27, 2022), 
https://www.foxnews.com/media/venezuelan-border-fbis-terror-watchlist-
michigan.
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    On April 18, 2022, Fox News reported that pursuant to a 
FOIA request, it was able to confirm that 23 people who came 
across the border between January 20, 2021, and December 31, 
2021, appeared on the Terrorist Screening Database.\11\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \11\Bill Melugin & Adam Shaw, Border Patrol stopped 23 people on 
terrorist database at southern border in 2021: CBP data (Apr. 18, 
2022), https://www.foxnews.com/politics/border-patrol-people-terrorist-
database-southern-border-2021-cbp-data.
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    In March 2022, the Committee received an update from CBP 
substantiating a marked increase in the number of individuals 
encountered during Fiscal Year 2021 who were listed the 
Terrorist Screening Database.\12\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \12\On file with Committee.
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    On April 28, 2022, at the Committee hearing, Ranking Member 
Jordan questioned Secretary Mayorkas about the current status 
of each of the aliens on the no-fly list or on the Terrorist 
Screening Database who had been encountered at the border. 
Specifically, Ranking Member Jordan asked, ``have any of the 42 
illegal migrants on the terrorist watchlist or No-Fly List 
encountered at our southwest border been released into the 
United States?'' Secretary Mayorkas did not have an answer to 
that question and instead deflected by promising to provide 
that data following the hearing.
    On May 2, 2022, Ranking Member Jordan sent a letter to 
Secretary Mayorkas following up on his unanswered question from 
the hearing and requesting more information. To date, DHS has 
not complied with these requests or provided the data first 
requested on April 28.
    On September 14, 2022, in light of Secretary Mayorkas's 
refusal to answer basic questions, the Committee considered H. 
Res. 1241 at a business meeting. Democrats refused to 
acknowledge that terrorists are crossing our southwest border 
at an alarming rate due to the Biden Administration's failure 
to secure the border. They showed no interest in getting DHS 
communications regarding aliens on the Terrorist Screening 
Database and the No-Fly list who have crossed the border. 
Democrats voted to report H. Res. 1241 unfavorably to the 
House. Republicans believe in border security and we strongly 
disagree with the Committee's action.

                                                Jim Jordan,
                                                    Ranking Member.

                                  [all]