118th Congress Immigration
S. 685: Stopping Border Surges Act
Introduced
- Introduced (completed)
- Passed Senate (not reached)
- Passed House (not reached)
- To the President (not reached)
- Became law (not reached)
Summary
This bill modifies immigration law provisions relating to unaccompanied alien minors and to asylum seekers.
For certain unaccompanied inadmissible alien children, generally those not at risk of being trafficking victims nor having a fear of persecution, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shall repatriate the child. Currently, only inadmissible unaccompanied aliens from neighboring countries are subject to repatriation, and DHS has discretion whether to repatriate.
When the Department of Health and Human Services releases an unaccompanied child to an individual, it must provide DHS with certain information about that individual. DHS must investigate the individual's immigration status and if the individual is not lawfully present in the United States, DHS must initiate removal proceedings against the individual.
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The bill requires a stricter standard to find a credible fear of persecution and imposes additional rules on credible fear interviews.
If an alien is granted asylum because of fear of persecution in a country, the alien shall be deemed to have renounced asylum status by returning to that country, if there has been no change in the country's conditions.
The bill also (1) expands the definition of what constitutes a frivolous asylum application, (2) imposes additional limitations on eligibility for asylum, (3) shortens the deadline for applying for asylum, and (4) extends the time period an alien seeking asylum must wait before receiving employment authorization.
Any individual who knowingly and willfully makes materially false statements or uses fraudulent documents in asylum-related proceedings shall be fined or imprisoned up to 10 years, or both.
Written by the Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress.
Roll calls
No roll call votes have been held on this bill.
Amendments
No amendments were offered to this bill.
Cosponsors
- Marsha Blackburn R-TNOriginal
- Mike Braun R-INOriginal
- Katie Britt R-ALOriginal
- Tom Cotton R-AROriginal
- Ted Cruz R-TXOriginal
- Steve Daines R-MTOriginal
- Joni Ernst R-IAOriginal
- Lindsey Graham R-SCOriginal
- Charles Grassley R-IAOriginal
- Jerry Moran R-KSOriginal
- Tommy Tuberville R-ALOriginal
- Ted Budd R-NC
- Pete Ricketts R-NE
Who scored on this bill
No member has earned points from it yet.
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History
- Introduced in the Senate by Mike Lee.
Show the full action history (2 actions)
- Introduced in Senate
- Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.


