(May 11, 2022, Washington, D.C.) — A new coalition of groups and former officials are urging Republican leaders to commit to putting a robust border security bill on the floor of both chambers once the 118th Congress begins.
The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), along with groups like the Heritage Foundation and NumbersUSA, the border patrol union, and former officials including Chad Wolf, Mark Morgan, and Tom Homan, signed a coalition letter instructing Republican leaders on how to retake control of our border and properly address what is sure to be an electoral mandate.
"When the 118th Congress opens with new majorities in both chambers, it will be in large part because Americans have rejected the Biden Administration's purposeful dismantling of our nation's borders and our immigration enforcement infrastructure," the letter reads. "Congress should be emboldened with the mandate to immediately legislate unflinchingly, ensuring that neither this nor any future administration is again able to weaponize loopholes in the immigration system—and defiantly refuse to follow plain law—to purposefully drive mass illegal immigration to the United States."
"Such weaponization has dramatically reduced the security of the border, allowing cartels to expand their operational control, which seriously jeopardizes our nation's safety, health, and national security. The opportunity to legislate has been missed in several previous Congresses but the stakes are too high for it to be missed again."
On top of excluding amnesty of any kind, the letter outlines specific components that must be in the bill, including:
- Create an authority to immediately expel illegal aliens across the border
- Substantially reform asylum system, including clarifying that an alien is ineligible for asylum in the U.S. if they traversed a safe third country
- End the disparate treatment of contiguous vs. non-contiguous unaccompanied alien children (UACs) under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA)
- Fix the Flores 20-day detention ruling
- Raise the credible fear standard
- Mandate and appropriate resources for completion of the border wall system
- End abuse of the parole authority
- Restrict prosecutorial discretion to remove it as the catch-all excuse for limiting immigration enforcement
- Mandate full implementation of the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), otherwise known as Remain in Mexico
- Codify Matter of A-B-, which clarifies that gang violence and domestic violence are not grounds for asylum
- Eliminate discretionary grants of employment authorization under 8 U.S.C. 1324A(h)(3)
"These legislative recommendations will ensure that our immigration laws protect and serve the interests of the American people, as they were meant to do," observed Dan Stein, president of FAIR. "Over the past 16 months, we have witnessed the devastating harm wrought by a rogue administration that is asserting near dictatorial powers in a relentless effort open our borders. The American people are appalled by what is going on and want to see it ended.
"FAIR is proud to stand with the strongest-ever assembled coalition of public interest groups, former Trump administration officials, and the vast majority of Americans in supporting legislation that would end a border crisis deliberately instigated by the Biden administration. Passage of this bill must be a top priority in the 118th Congress," concluded Stein.
Signers of the letter include:
Organizations
- Advocates for Victims of Illegal Alien Crime
- America First Policy Institute
- Center for Renewing America
- Center for the American Way of Life
- Claremont Institute
- Conservative Partnership Institute
- Counterpoint Institute
- Eagle Forum
- FAIR
- Heritage Action for America
- Heritage Foundation
- Judicial Watch
- National Border Patrol Council
- NumbersUSA
- Texas Public Policy Foundation
Former senior officials
- Ken Cuccinelli, former acting deputy secretary, Department of Homeland Security
- Joseph Edlow, former acting director, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
- Tom Homan, former acting director, Immigration and Customs Enforcement
- Derek Maltz, former agent in charge, Special Operations Division, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration
- Mark Morgan, former acting commissioner, U.S. Customs and Border Protection
- Rodney Scott, former chief, U.S. Border Patrol
- Lamar Smith, former member of Congress
- Russ Vought, former director, Office of Management and Budget
- Chad Wolf, former acting secretary, Department of Homeland Security
Read the full letter here.
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