I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5717 
To address the surge in illegal border crossings along the southwest border 
by establishing new ports of entry for processing migrants in accordance 
with the Immigration and Nationality Act and section 362 of the Public 
Health Service Act. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 25, 2021 
Mr. NORMAN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Homeland 
Security, and Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently deter-
mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 
as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To address the surge in illegal border crossings along the 
southwest border by establishing new ports of entry for 
processing migrants in accordance with the Immigration 
and Nationality Act and section 362 of the Public Health 
Service Act. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLES. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Stop the Surge of Un-
safe Rio Grande Encampments Act of 2021’’ or the ‘‘Stop 
the SURGE Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) The southwest border of the United States, 
particularly near the Rio Grande Valley, has been 
inundated by illegal aliens and foreign migrants in 
response to lenient immigration and border policies 
and practices. 
(2) During the first 4 months of fiscal year 
2021, U.S. Customs and Border Protection recorded 
between 71,946 and 78,414 monthly encounters with 
migrants along the southwest border. During the 
first 7 full months of the Biden Administration, 
such encounters increased to an average of 177,883 
per month, resulting in a total of 1,541,651 such en-
counters during the first 11 months of fiscal year 
2021. 
(3) U.S. Customs and Border Protection en-
counters have increased during fiscal year 2021 in 
each southwest Border Patrol Sector compared to 
fiscal year 2020, particularly in the sectors along the 
Rio Grande River, where, as of August 2021, there 
had been an increase of— 
(A) 135.8 percent in the Laredo Sector; 
(B) 278.7 percent in the El Paso Sector; 
(C) 380.3 percent in the Big Bend Sector; 
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(D) 532.6 percent increase in the Del Rio 
Sector; and 
(E) 542.4 percent increase in the Rio 
Grande Valley Sector. 
(4) The number of encounters at the southwest 
border between U.S. Customs and Border Protection 
agents and migrants comprised the vast majority of 
total U.S. Customs and Border Protection encoun-
ters nationwide during fiscal year 2021. 
(5) During September 2021, an estimated 
30,000 migrants crossed through the port of entry 
at the City of Del Rio, Texas, which is almost as nu-
merous as the city’s population. All of these mi-
grants had to be processed in accordance with the 
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et 
seq.) and section 362 of the Public Health Service 
Act (42 U.S.C. 265). As many as 15,000 migrants 
gathered and waited to be processed at the Del Rio 
port of entry in mid-September, leading to inhumane 
conditions for the migrants temporarily housed 
under an underpass in makeshift shelters, and seri-
ous fears and uncertainty for the local residents. 
(6) Several Federal officials have acknowledged 
that officials at the Department of Homeland Secu-
rity’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis, U.S. Cus-
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toms and Border Protection, and U.S. Immigration 
and Customs Enforcement were aware of the poten-
tial surge of migrants from Haiti several months be-
fore the surge occurred, but failed to stop the im-
pending crisis. Instead of increasing deportations to 
discourage a surge of illegal immigration, these 
agencies halted all deportation flights to Haiti in the 
weeks leading up to the September crisis in Del Rio, 
Texas. 
(7) Although immigration policy is directed by 
the Federal Government, the immediate effects of 
such large numbers of encounters are primarily felt 
by the States and local communities along the south-
west border. These States and local communities 
bear direct and indirect costs, and are most im-
pacted by the volume of individual encounters at the 
border. State and local governments bear substantial 
costs to alleviate concerns for citizens and migrants 
as a result of inadequate Federal enforcement of ex-
isting immigration laws and border enforcement 
policies. These costs include health care, schooling, 
housing, and public safety expenses related to the 
resettlement of new arrivals. 
(8) The Governor of Texas originally declared a 
disaster in 34 Texas counties based on the increase 
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in illegal immigration at the southwest border and 
has since expanded the disaster declaration to a 
total of 47 Texas counties, including Brewster, 
Brooks, Crockett, Culberson, DeWitt, Dimmit, 
Edwards, Frio, Goliad, Gonzales, Hudspeth, Jeff 
Davis, Jim Hogg, Kimble, Kinney, La Salle, Lavaca, 
Live Oak, Maverick, McMullen, Midland, Pecos, Pre-
sidio, Real, Terrell, Uvalde, Val Verde, Zapata, Colo-
rado, Crane, Galveston, Kenedy, Mason, Medina, 
Throckmorton, Bee, Jackson, Schleicher, Sutton, 
Webb, 
Zavala, 
Menard, 
Wharton, 
McCulloch, 
Refugio, Victoria, and Wilbarger counties. The gov-
ernor has deployed thousands of National Guard and 
Department of Public Safety troopers to the border 
over the past months in order to enforce existing 
Federal immigration laws. However, significant 
numbers of additional foreign migrants are still 
heading to the southwest border. 
(9) The sheer volume of migrant crossings has 
overwhelmed the capacity of Border Patrol sectors 
along the southwest border. Many U.S. Border Pa-
trol agents have been pulled from their duties patrol-
ling the border to help process people in custody in 
the southwest Border Patrol sectors, leaving parts of 
the border insufficiently guarded. 
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SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—It shall be the policy of the United 
States for the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Com-
missioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Di-
rector of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the 
Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, 
and any other Federal agencies or military officials in-
volved in the processing of illegal aliens and foreign mi-
grants seeking entry or any form of legal status in the 
United States to adhere to the procedures described in 
subsection (b) when processing migrants in covered Bor-
der Patrol sectors along the southwest border. 
(b) PROCEDURES.— 
(1) RELOCATION TO NEW PORTS OF ENTRY.— 
Any official of the Department of Homeland Secu-
rity, upon encountering any alien who has illegally 
entered the United States in a covered Border Pa-
trol sector, shall immediately relocate such alien to 
any of the new ports of entry established pursuant 
to section 4 and designated for immigrant proc-
essing pursuant to section 5. Any such encounter 
within the geographic boundaries of a covered Bor-
der Patrol sector is subject to the transfer policies, 
timing, and geographic limitations established under 
this Act. 
(2) LIMITATIONS.— 
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