III 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 608 

Denouncing the Biden Administration’s immigration policies. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 21, 2024 

Mr. SCOTT of Florida (for himself, Mr. BUDD, Mr. CRAMER, Mrs. CAPITO, 

Mr. HOEVEN, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Mr. CRUZ, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. HAWLEY, 

Mr. COTTON, Mr. SCOTT of South Carolina, Mr. MARSHALL, Mr. JOHNSON, Mr. BRAUN, and Mrs. HYDE-SMITH) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

RESOLUTION 

Denouncing the Biden Administration’s immigration policies. 

Whereas President Joe Biden and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas have created the worst border 

security crisis in the history of the United States; 

Whereas President Biden, beginning on day one of his administration, systematically dismantled effective border security measures and interior immigration enforcement; 

Whereas the Biden Administration’s open-borders policies 

have incentivized nearly 9,300,000 illegal aliens from all 

around the world, including criminal aliens and suspected 

terrorists, to arrive at the southwest border; 


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•SRES 608 IS 

Whereas the Biden Administration has allowed at least 

6,300,000 illegal aliens from the southwest border to 

travel to communities within the United States; 

Whereas current immigration law allows for the United 

States to enter into asylum cooperative agreements with 

other countries to allow for the removal of certain aliens 

seeking asylum in the United States; 

Whereas asylum cooperative agreements provide the United 

States with another tool to reduce the incentives for illegal immigration; 

Whereas asylum cooperative agreements increase cooperation 

with United States allies in the Western Hemisphere and 

around the world and promote shared responsibility; 

Whereas the previous administration announced asylum cooperative agreements with El Salvador, Guatemala, and 

Honduras; 

Whereas the Biden Administration suspended and terminated 

these asylum cooperative agreements as part of its openborders agenda that has encouraged mass illegal immigration at the southwest border; 

Whereas the Biden Administration retains the ability to negotiate asylum cooperative agreements with El Salvador, 

Guatemala, and Honduras but has refused to do so, despite historic illegal immigration at the southwest border; 

Whereas clauses (ii) and (iii)(IV) of section 235(b)(1)(B) of 

the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

1225(b)(1)(B)) require the Secretary of Homeland Security to detain inadmissible aliens arriving in the United 

States who indicate either an intention to apply for asylum under section 208 of that Act (8 U.S.C. 1158) or 

a fear of persecution; 


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•SRES 608 IS 

Whereas the Immigration and Nationality Act provides for 

the Secretary of Homeland Security to detain, during removal proceedings, aliens who arrive at the border and 

are found to be inadmissible; 

Whereas the Biden Administration has purposely violated 

United States immigration law by refusing to detain inadmissible aliens arriving at the border; 

Whereas the Biden Administration could comply with the 

mandatory detention statutes of the Immigration and 

Nationality Act; 

Whereas the Biden Administration’s purposeful violation of 

the mandatory detention statutes of the Immigration and 

Nationality Act has resulted in the mass release of millions of illegal aliens into United States communities; 

Whereas current immigration law allows for inadmissible 

aliens to be expeditiously removed from the United States 

once encountered at the border unless they establish a 

credible fear of persecution; 

Whereas the Biden Administration has released millions of illegal aliens into the United States without even processing them for expedited removal to be screened for asylum eligibility; 

Whereas only 6.8 percent of the 5,600,000 illegal alien encounters from January 20, 2021, through August 31, 

2023, resulted in the Department of Homeland Security 

placing the illegal alien into expedited removal proceedings to even be screened for asylum eligibility; 

Whereas roughly 40 percent of the illegal aliens who were not 

found to have a credible fear of persecution were not removed and remained in the United States as of August 

31, 2023; 


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•SRES 608 IS 

Whereas nearly a third of the illegal aliens who were processed for expedited removal and who did not even attempt to make a claim for asylum cannot be confirmed 

by the Biden Administration as having been removed 

from the United States; 

Whereas the Biden Administration could expand expedited 

removal to more quickly remove illegal aliens at the border and screen more illegal aliens for asylum eligibility 

instead of mass releasing them into the United States; 

Whereas the Biden Administration’s limited use of expedited 

removal only incentivizes illegal immigration and worsens 

the border crisis; 

Whereas the Biden Administration terminated the Migrant 

Protection Protocols despite their effectiveness; 

Whereas the Biden Administration has purposely violated 

United States immigration law by abusing discretionary 

case-by-case authority and other parole authorities to 

mass parole illegal aliens who would otherwise have no 

legal basis to enter and remain in the United States; 

Whereas the Biden Administration’s proposed solution to the 

border crisis failed to address catch-and-release valves 

such as the Flores Settlement Agreement and the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (Public Law 110–457; 122 Stat. 

5044) that incentivize surges of unaccompanied alien 

children and adults arriving with children to come to the 

southwest border, putting children’s lives at risk; 

Whereas the Biden Administration could end its catch-andrelease policies; 

Whereas the Biden Administration’s proposed solutions to the 

border crisis did nothing to end catch-and-release but inVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:56 Mar 22, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR608.IS SR608

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•SRES 608 IS 

stead mandated mass release of illegal aliens at the 

southwest border; 

Whereas parks, schools, police stations, recreation centers, 

hotels, and airports have been repurposed for use as shelters for illegal aliens; 

Whereas the Biden Administration’s open-borders policies 

have strained State and local social services resources as 

the millions of illegal aliens who have entered since January 20, 2021, compete with United States citizens and 

legal immigrants for those resources; 

Whereas section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality 

Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(f)) empowers the President to ‘‘suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of aliens . . . 

or impose on the entry of aliens any restrictions he may 

deem to be appropriate’’. . . ‘‘[w]henever the President 

finds that the entry of any aliens or of any class of aliens 

into the United States would be detrimental to the interests of the United States’’; 

Whereas, in Trump v. Hawaii, 138 S. Ct. 2392 (2018), the 

Supreme Court described the President’s suspension of 

entry authority as an authority that ‘‘exudes deference to 

the President in every clause’’; 

Whereas President Biden has cited his suspension of entry 

authority in other instances but has refused to use that 

authority to address the border crisis; 

Whereas President Biden retains the power to use his suspension of entry authority to address the border crisis; 

Whereas President Biden’s refusal to use his suspension of 

entry authority ensures that the border stays open, endangers the United States, and encourages illegal immigration; and 


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•SRES 608 IS 

Whereas President Biden has claimed he is powerless to address the border crisis through executive action: Now, 

therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) affirms that, in order to help control the 

3 crisis at the border that it has created, the Biden 

4 Administration has the authority to— 

5 (A) end the catch-and-release policy; 

6 (B) reinstate the Migrant Protection Pro7 tocols; 

8 (C) enter into asylum cooperative agree9 ments; 

10 (D) end abuses of parole authority; 

11 (E) detain inadmissible aliens; 

12 (F) use expedited removal authority; and 

13 (G) rein in taxpayer-funded benefits for il14 legal aliens; 

15 (2) affirms that the Biden Administration is re16 fusing to use such authorities; and 

17 (3) urges the Biden Administration to imme18 diately begin using such authorities. 

Æ 


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