Last week, I introduced legislation to reinstate the Migrant Protection Protocols or, as many people know it, "Remain in Mexico." This legislation will require those seeking asylum at the Southern border or without proper documentation to return to Mexico to wait for their immigration proceedings. It also sets a robust standard for asylum eligibility, ensuring that the process is reserved for those with genuine humanitarian needs and preventing its misuse for ulterior motives.

The asylum process should be reserved for those who genuinely need it and not be used as a hamfisted workaround that allows the Biden Administration to sidestep our nation's sovereignty. President Biden, Secretary Mayorkas, and the rest of the Biden Administration have profoundly neglected their duty to secure our nation’s border. To put that in perspective, prior to Joe Biden taking office, the total estimated population of illegal aliens living in America was 10-12 million—meaning that we have almost doubled the illegal population in less than three years. Implementing this bill is necessary and a commonsense measure to mitigate and decrease illegal border crossings, enabling our great Border Patrol to patrol and secure our border.

You can read the bill here. 

BACKGROUND

In January 2019, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) launched the hugely successful Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), which ended the failed policies of catch and release and restored the orderly processing of illegal immigrants. Upon arriving at the border, migrants were given a Notice to Appear for an immigration court hearing at a later date and returned to Mexico. While migrants awaited their hearing, Mexico agreed to provide humanitarian aid under the U.S.-Mexico Joint Declaration and Supplementary Agreement. President Biden backtracked on these treaty obligations when he suspended the program on January 21, 2021. Biden's policy reversal quickly spiraled into the current border crisis. 

In August 2023, Biden struck a deal with the Iranian government to unfreeze $6 billion and release Iranian prisoners in exchange for the release of five Americans. While it is imperative we work to free Americans being held by adversaries around the globe, releasing $6 billion to the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism was another deadly Biden foreign policy failure – something made clear about a month after the deal was consummated. 

Over 1,200 people were killed and more than 240 taken hostage in the barbaric Iranian-backed Hamas attacks against Israel on October 7th – the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust. 

While the Biden Administration scrambles to deny any wrongdoing by claiming the funds unfrozen weren’t used in the Hamas attacks, the fact is releasing any money to Iran frees up funds they can use to support terrorism. Even the Iranian President stated that the money “belongs to the Iranian people, the Iranian government, so the Islamic Republic of Iran will decide what to do with this money.”

The United States cannot play any part in Iran having access to billions of dollars while they continue to back heinous attacks against our allies and support terrorist groups that call for “Death to America.”

This week, the House passed the No Funds For Iranian Terrorism Act, which imposes immediate, mandatory sanctions on any financial institution that engages in a transaction with the Qatari banks holding the $6 billion of Iranian funds that President Biden recklessly released earlier this year. This bill effectively prevents Iran, the largest state sponsor of terrorism, from accessing these funds, which they could then use to fund their nefarious activities. 

Background: 

In September 2023, the Biden Administration waived sanctions to allow $6 billion in Iranian funds in South Korean banks to be transferred to banks in Qatar in exchange for the release of five American hostages.

• Authorizing the transfer of $6 billion for Iran sets a dangerous precedent that will incentivize more hostage-taking by the number one state sponsor of terror and other bad actors.
• No matter what the Biden Administration says, money is fungible. This deal gives Iran access to more money to fund its terrorist activities, including support for regional proxies like Hamas and Hezbollah.
• The Iranian regime is highly skilled in sanctions evasion. It will do everything it can to hide the true use of these funds instead of using them for “humanitarian” purposes, as the Biden Administration claims.
• The No Funds for Iranian Terrorism Act imposes immediate, mandatory sanctions on any financial institution that engages in a transaction with the Qatari banks holding the $6 billion of Iranian funds – effectively freezing this money. 

Legislation sponsored:

• H.R. 6477 - To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to reform the process for inspection of applicants for admission.

Legislation cosponsored:

• H.R. 6493 - To limit the involvement of Federal agencies in voter registration activities, and for other purposes.
• H.R. 6520 - To exclude individuals who are not citizens of the United States from the number of persons used to determine the apportionment of Representatives and the number of electoral votes.
• H.R. 6522 - To require the Secretary of Homeland Security to fingerprint noncitizen minors entering the United States who are suspected of being victims of human trafficking, to require the Secretary to publicly disclose the number of such minors who are fingerprinted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials and the number of child traffickers who are apprehended by CBP, to impose criminal penalties on noncitizen adults who use unrelated minors to gain entry into the United States, and for other purposes.
• H.R. 6523 - To require the Department of Homeland Security to publish various publications and reports regarding the number of aliens seeking entry along the southern border of the United States.
• H.R. 6485 - To ensure that organizations with religious or moral convictions are allowed to continue to provide services for children.
• H.R. 6502 - To prohibit representatives of the United States from voting at the International Monetary Fund for any Special Drawing Rights allocations, quota increases, or policy modifications that would benefit certain countries, and for other purposes.
• H.R. 6459 - To amend title XI of the Social Security Act to limit demonstration projects related to abortion under Medicaid and CHIP.
• H.R. 6460 - To prohibit the Secretary of Health and Human Services from issuing, finalizing, implementing, or enforcing any rule or guidance to facilitate abortions or access to abortions for an unaccompanied alien child.

It is a privilege to represent our district in Congress.  While we’ve faced many challenges in recent years, through strength and prayer, we have persevered. 

Please know that we are always a resource for you.  Call or stop by any of the offices (YOUR offices, we work for you), whenever you need assistance or want to talk about an issue before Congress.

For assistance or more information, please call or go online to visit us at weber.house.gov.

God Bless you and God Bless Texas!