Secure the Border Act of 2023

Bill: 118-s-2824
Sponsor: Sen. Cruz, Ted [R-TX]
Introduced: 2023-09-14 in the Senate
Policy area: Immigration
Subjects: Administrative remedies
Border security and unlawful immigration
Child safety and welfare
Civil actions and liability
Computer security and identity theft
Criminal investigation, prosecution, interrogation
Criminal justice information and records
Department of Homeland Security
Detention of persons
Domestic violence and child abuse
El Salvador
Employee hiring
Executive agency funding and structure
Family relationships
Federal preemption
Foreign labor
Fraud offenses and financial crimes
Government information and archives
Government studies and investigations
Guatemala
Honduras
Immigration status and procedures
Internet, web applications, social media
Latin America
Law enforcement officers
Licensing and registrations
Mexico
Migrant, seasonal, agricultural labor
Personnel records
Photography and imaging
Public contracts and procurement
Refugees, asylum, displaced persons
State and local government operations
Telephone and wireless communication
Visas and passports

Summary:
action_date: 2023-09-14
text: 

Secure the Border Act of 2023 

This bill addresses issues regarding immigration and border security, including by imposing limits to asylum eligibility.

For example, the bill

requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to resume activities to construct a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border;

provides statutory authorization for Operation Stonegarden, which provides grants to law enforcement agencies for certain border security operations;

prohibits DHS from processing the entry of non-U.S. nationals (
aliens
 under federal law) arriving between ports of entry;

limits asylum eligibility to non-U.S. nationals who arrive in the United States at a port of entry;

authorizes the removal of a non-U.S. national to a country other than that individual's country of nationality or last lawful habitual residence, whereas currently this type of removal may only be to a country that has an agreement with the United States for such removal;

expands the types of crimes that may make an individual ineligible for asylum, such as a conviction for driving while intoxicated causing another person's serious bodily injury or death;

authorizes DHS to suspend the introduction of certain non-U.S. nationals at an international border if DHS determines that the suspension is necessary to achieve operational control of that border;

prohibits states from imposing licensing requirements on immigration detention facilities used to detain minors;

authorizes immigration officers to permit an unaccompanied alien child to withdraw their application for admission into the United States even if the child is unable to make an independent decision to withdraw the application;

imposes additional penalties for overstaying a visa; and

requires DHS to create an electronic employment eligibility confirmation system modeled after the E-Verify system and requires all employers to use the system.



Legislative actions:
action_date: 2024-01-11
text: Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. Hearings held.
action_date: 2023-09-14
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2023-09-14
text: Introduced in Senate