This Issue: Rep. Chip Roy's Border Safety and Security Act delayed over concerns from some GOP Members
Fri,
Jan. 20th
Rep. Chip Roy's (R-Texas) H.R. 29, the Border Safety and Security Act, was slotted to be one of the top 10 bills that House Republicans brought to the floor for a vote in the 118th Congress. But that plan has hit a snag with some resistance to the legislation from inside the Republican Party.
Forbes reported on the false concerns over how the bill would impact asylum claims.
The controversial bill, authored by Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), was among those Kevin McCarthy promised an early floor vote in exchange for member votes to become Speaker of the House. The recently passed House rules package listed the "Border Safety and Security Act of 2023" as one of seven bills that would receive a vote.
In practice, the bill would likely mandate that the executive branch block the entry of anyone without a visa who seeks asylum, no matter how legitimate an individual's asylum claim. If a person already had a visa, they would not likely apply for asylum at a port of entry.
The emphasized sentence from the Forbes report describes the disputed provision from the legislation. However, it lacks some important context.
The provision only requires DHS to block all entries of illegal aliens if it is unable to: 1) detain ALL illegal aliens until their court hearing as already required under law or 2) return illegal aliens to the country they entered from until their court hearing, similar to the Trump Administration's Remain in Mexico policy.
In other words, DHS would have three choices for dealing with illegal entrants:
- detain them pending their asylum hearing;
- return them to Mexico (or Canada) to await their asylum hearing;
- or return them to their home country.
Any suggestion that the bill would block asylum is false. Illegal border crossers and aliens who request asylum without a visa at a port of entry can still claim asylum. But the Roy bill would prevent the Biden Administration and future administrations from releasing them into the United States until their hearing. DHS can detain the aliens or return them to the country they entered from until their asylum hearing.
We've posted new messages on your Action Board that you can send to your U.S. Representatives clearing up any misinformation about the bill and urging your Rep. to support the legislation.
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Chris Chmielenski
NumbersUSA Deputy Director |
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