Republicans advance bill to make Trump border policy permanent

By Thérèse Boudreaux
The Center Square

A bill to codify President Donald Trump’s border security and immigration policy is headed to the U.S. House floor after Republicans advanced it out of committee Tuesday.

The Permanent Trump Secure Border Act would permanently impose limits on asylum and parole eligibility, increase penalties for visa overstays, and reform policies regarding family detention and unaccompanied migrant children.

Republicans argue that the legislation is needed so that another administration does not reverse current immigration policies that have led to drastic reductions in border crossings – yet also waves of anti-ICE protests across the country.

“Daily border encounters have plunged 94% since President Trump took office. The reason for that is because of policies that are now consistent with our laws with respect to asylum, with respect to parole, with respect to catch and release,” Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, the bill’s sponsor, told lawmakers during the House Judiciary Committee bill markup Tuesday that lasted over six hours.

“And we’re trying to codify this to ensure that we can adhere to those policies regardless of who is in power … We must ensure that border security is not a byproduct of whoever is elected to the presidency.”

A large portion of the legislation targets loose asylum and parole laws. The Biden administration allowed at least two million migrants who illegally crossed the U.S. border to claim asylum – without having to provide evidence of eligibility – and released them into the country on parole.

The Republicans’ bill would severely curb that practice, raising the standard of proof officers use to grant asylum claims to “more likely than not” eligible based on credible fear. Currently, immigration officers can accept asylum claims if there is only a “significant possibility” of an applicant’s credible fear.

Additionally, the legislation generally limits asylum eligibility to migrants arriving at legal ports of entry and bars asylum status for migrants who transitioned through other asylum-offering countries before reaching the U.S.

It also toughens rules on persecution claims and forbids the admission of asylum seekers with criminal histories, whether violent or nonviolent.

Parole would be granted on a case-by-case basis, forbidding parole by class, and eligibility would be narrowed to urgent humanitarian reasons, personal emergencies or “significant public benefit.”

Another notable provision in the bill criminalizes visa overstays of more than 10 days, increasing the associated penalties to an up to $1,000 fine and six months in prison for a first-time offender. Repeat overstayers could be subject to a $2,000 fine and up to two years in prison.

Smaller but still significant border policies the bill would codify include relaxing licensing requirements for immigration detention facilities, modifying repatriation rules for unaccompanied migrant children, and clarifying standards for detention of migrant families.

Democrats on the committee unanimously opposed the bill, calling it “extreme” and “cruel.”

“This bill eviscerates asylum, strips due process protections for unaccompanied kids, and allows for the indefinite detention of families and children,” Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., told lawmakers. “Instead of demonizing immigrants, we should work together to reform an immigration system that has not been modernized in over 30 years.”

Even if the bill passes the House, it will almost certainly die in the Senate, where Republicans hold 53 seats and 60 votes are needed for the legislation to pass.