Legislation being introduced into the Senate is aimed to close the legal loopholes that allow hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants to enter and stay in the United States without a valid asylum claim.
Sen. Lindsey Graham’s (R-S.C.) bill, titled “Secure and Protect Act of 2019,” outlines four main fixes. The first is that asylum must be claimed in either the individual’s home country or in Mexico. That will prevent illegal immigrants from gaining access to the United States unless their claim is approved.
Under the current system, if an adult brings a child illegally into the United States and claims asylum, there is a 98 percent chance they will stay indefinitely. In some areas, where the Border Patrol is overwhelmed, fewer than 10 percent of illegal aliens claim asylum, but are still released after 48 to 72 hours.
The bill also provides a fix to the Flores Settlement Agreement, which was expanded by a judge in 2015 and has, in part, contributed to the surge in family units since then. In 2015, U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee of the Central District of California said no minor can be held in detention longer than 20 days. Previously, that rule only applied to unaccompanied minors, not those who were part of family units. The result is that families are released within a few days.
The unlucky 13: States bordering Canada are particularly hard-hit by trade war
Wendell Berry, 1934-2026
Trump admin’s list of US-designated ‘foreign terrorist’ groups in Latin America expands to 21
‘I’m coming home’: Last words haunt a 9/11 daughter 25 years later as she builds a legacy in his honor
Hasan Piker, cowboys, Charlie Kirk, and more: Top six takeaways from Republican midterm convention Night 2
Vance describes his hopes for baby son as he lays down a marker for 2028 with the speech of his life
Charlie Kirk supporters return to site of assassination 1 year later: ‘We are still standing’
Crowd erupts as Vance smacks down protester waving Mexican flag: ‘Get your a– over there’
Juror on Lindsay Clancy trial says ‘we let down Lindsay’ following mistrial
Top GOP senator reveals what Dem colleagues are fretting about behind closed doors
Patrol sergeant accused of murdering sheriff’s captain in yearslong romantic dispute over woman they dated
Several People Who Were Fired Over Charlie Kirk Comments Got Big Payouts or Were Given Their Jobs Back
Vance declares Democrats ‘party of hatred,’ says party has moved beyond big government, censorship
JD Vance to invoke Charlie Kirk, family ‘birthright’ in fiery midterm keynote speech thrashing Dems
Top Trump official reveals how 30-minute military op unlocked Venezuela oil windfall for US buyers
Former Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen estimated that 1 million illegal immigrants will be apprehended this fiscal year. The largest increase of illegal border crossers are family units. More than half of the 460,000 Border Patrol apprehensions so far this fiscal year are individuals within family units—a 400 percent increase over the same time period in fiscal 2018.
Graham’s bill would increase the time in detention to 100 days, which would allow for the adjudication of an asylum case, and a quick deportation if status is not granted.
“I’m trying to turn the faucet off. These loopholes are creating a humanitarian crisis,” Graham said in a press conference on May 15. “If we do nothing, what’s it going to look like next year?”
In conjunction, Graham wants an additional 500 immigration judges hired to help adjudicate the cases and clear the almost 900,000-case backlog that exits.
The unlucky 13: States bordering Canada are particularly hard-hit by trade war
Wendell Berry, 1934-2026
Trump admin’s list of US-designated ‘foreign terrorist’ groups in Latin America expands to 21
‘I’m coming home’: Last words haunt a 9/11 daughter 25 years later as she builds a legacy in his honor
Hasan Piker, cowboys, Charlie Kirk, and more: Top six takeaways from Republican midterm convention Night 2
Vance describes his hopes for baby son as he lays down a marker for 2028 with the speech of his life
Charlie Kirk supporters return to site of assassination 1 year later: ‘We are still standing’
Crowd erupts as Vance smacks down protester waving Mexican flag: ‘Get your a– over there’
Juror on Lindsay Clancy trial says ‘we let down Lindsay’ following mistrial
Top GOP senator reveals what Dem colleagues are fretting about behind closed doors
Patrol sergeant accused of murdering sheriff’s captain in yearslong romantic dispute over woman they dated
Several People Who Were Fired Over Charlie Kirk Comments Got Big Payouts or Were Given Their Jobs Back
Vance declares Democrats ‘party of hatred,’ says party has moved beyond big government, censorship
JD Vance to invoke Charlie Kirk, family ‘birthright’ in fiery midterm keynote speech thrashing Dems
Top Trump official reveals how 30-minute military op unlocked Venezuela oil windfall for US buyers
Lastly, the bill aims to even out the disparity in the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA), under which currently a minor from Mexico or Canada (a contiguous country) may be quickly returned to that country if they are not a victim of trafficking; minors from any other (noncontiguous) country cannot be returned.
“If you think this is a Trump-created problem, you really just hate Trump. Because this problem has been long in the making before Trump got here,” Graham said.
He said he will hold a hearing to discuss the bill and then a markup session. He expects Democrats to add amendments to the bill, including for more aid to Central American countries and some type of amnesty for a population of illegal immigrants in the United States, probably Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients.
He intimated he was open to adding both.
“To any Republican who doesn’t want to find a solution, then you own the problem,” he said. “The Democratic Party has marginalized this issue—they have told you this is not a problem, [that] Trump created this problem. When President Trump made his State of the Union speech, every Democrat said ‘This is just Trump hysteria, Trump demagoguery.’
The unlucky 13: States bordering Canada are particularly hard-hit by trade war
Wendell Berry, 1934-2026
Trump admin’s list of US-designated ‘foreign terrorist’ groups in Latin America expands to 21
‘I’m coming home’: Last words haunt a 9/11 daughter 25 years later as she builds a legacy in his honor
Hasan Piker, cowboys, Charlie Kirk, and more: Top six takeaways from Republican midterm convention Night 2
Vance describes his hopes for baby son as he lays down a marker for 2028 with the speech of his life
Charlie Kirk supporters return to site of assassination 1 year later: ‘We are still standing’
Crowd erupts as Vance smacks down protester waving Mexican flag: ‘Get your a– over there’
Juror on Lindsay Clancy trial says ‘we let down Lindsay’ following mistrial
Top GOP senator reveals what Dem colleagues are fretting about behind closed doors
Patrol sergeant accused of murdering sheriff’s captain in yearslong romantic dispute over woman they dated
Several People Who Were Fired Over Charlie Kirk Comments Got Big Payouts or Were Given Their Jobs Back
Vance declares Democrats ‘party of hatred,’ says party has moved beyond big government, censorship
JD Vance to invoke Charlie Kirk, family ‘birthright’ in fiery midterm keynote speech thrashing Dems
Top Trump official reveals how 30-minute military op unlocked Venezuela oil windfall for US buyers
“To my Democratic colleagues, your credibility on this issue is pretty low right now. You need to understand that you were wrong. This was a real problem.”
In February 2018, four immigration-related bills failed in the Senate, while another two failed in the House during the summer.
Trump has maintained that he will sign a reasonable bill that closes the border security loopholes and moves toward a merit-based immigration system. Senate Republicans met with Vice President Mike Pence and White House adviser Jared Kushner on May 14 to discuss Trump’s immigration priorities.
Story cited here.
