Quote (bogie160 @ Jul 24 2024 11:06am)
The Biden-Harris administration "paroled" well over a million inadmissible immigrants under a novel and unprecedented application of US parole authority. There neither was nor is any need for congressional action to prevent that, the Biden-Harris administration could simply have elected not to release millions into the United States, as Trump/Obama/Bush/Clinton(etc) all elected not to do in turn.
On the bill specifically...
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Page 62 provides $440 million over 2.5 years for more immigration judges
Page 64 earmarks $210 million for detention and $204 million for the FBI to analyze DNA.
Page 66 grants $33 million to monitor/report:/project migration flows.
Page 67 earmarks $6.0 billion over 2.5 years for broad objectives including counter-fentanyl activities, migration surges, port of entry expenses (i.e. to allow more migrants in), and reimbursing the DoD for costs already incurred. Only ~$500 million is earmarked for more border personnel, and $1.4 billion is to be transferred to FEMA in order to bail out Democratic cities for migrant sheltering costs and related activities.
Pages 68-69 earmarks $424 million for "non-intrusive inspection technology", and $260 for border security technology. An additional $3.2 billion for detention centers, $2.5 billion for flights, and $534 million for ICE hiring. Another $1.3 billion for expanding non-detention diversion. Finally another $100 million earmarked to FEMA, of which at least 25% must flow to non-southern border states.
Page 70 provides $4 billion for expanded immigration and citizenship services.
Page 82 clarifies that the vast majority of net new hires will be for asylum processing, not border control and enforcement.
Page 84 gives HHS $350 million in giveaways to states and NGOs for asylum resettlement.
Page 85 provides $1.2 billion for international economic aid within the Western hemisphere. Page 86 clarifies that only $185 million of that total need to be for reducing irregular migration.
Pages 115-120 codify the practice of releasing from custody those who "indicate an intention to apply for a protection determination" or express a "credible fear" of persecution. The Secretary will "serve notice" to the alien or their "counsel of record", except obviously in scenarios where the alien can no longer be found. The alien is to be reminded of their obligation to update the Secretary on mailing and telephone changes. If the alien decides to ignore these obligations, they'll be in violation of statutes which the Biden-Harris admin has in turn deprioritized for deportation. In short, once in there's no reasonable expectation that they'll be removed.
On page 203 of the "Border Bill", the definition of a credible asylum claim is changed from "significant possibility" to "reasonable possibility" of persecution.
On pages 205-211 the "emergency authority" carves out specific exceptions which include "reasonable possibility" of persecution, and gives the government broad latitude to ignore summary deportation for reasons as mundane as "operational considerations". On page 207, it's explicitly stated that the emergency authority does not prevent aliens from seeking asylum at a port of entry. Circle back to the first paragraph, allow mass entry of "asylum" claimants, the vast majority of whom will be rejected, and then deprioritize deportation so that they stay once admitted.
On page 212, the Secretary is only required to declare a state of emergency authority if the number of crossings over a 7-day span average 5,000 or more. That equates to 1,825,000 annually. On pages 212-213, only encounters between ports of entry are included in the 1,825,000 annual figure.
Pages 213-214, the Secretary shall suspend the emergency authority when rates fall below 75% of the activation level, or 1,368,750 annually.
Page 219 grants the President the authority to suspend any emergency on "national interest" grounds for a period of 45 days per calendar year.
Page 224 (re)clarifies that this only applies within 100 miles of the border, illegal migrants who make it north ~2 hours by bus are home free.
Just like Ukraione funding, its a lot of money that does nothing for border security.