Border Coalition Urges Swift Passage of Historic Proposal to End Border Crisis, Reduce Illegal Immigration

Border Coalition Urges Swift Passage of Historic Proposal to End Border Crisis, Reduce Illegal Immigration

May 2, 2023 9 min read

WASHINGTON—The Heritage Foundation, along with an assembled coalition of prominent conservative groups, released a coalition letter applauding House Republicans’ flagship border security and enforcement package and calling for its swift passage.

The Secure the Border Act (H.R. 2), which was unveiled today in a pro forma session, is the product of a long, deliberative, and collaborative effort between many members of Congress and the coalition. It would put an end to the Biden border crisis, re-secure the border, and ultimately reduce illegal immigration.

In an exhaustive effort leading up to today, the coalition successfully strengthened the Commitment to America, held the line against a lame-duck amnesty push by open-borders actors, pushed for a flagship package earlier this Congress, and assisted in the advancement of important pieces of legislative text that make up the package introduced today. One thing is clear: This is the strongest and most consequential border security and enforcement package to date, and it is time to get it across the finish line.

The final coalition letter indicates strong support for the Secure the Border Act:

This flagship package represents the strongest border security and enforcement legislation put forth to date and fulfills key promises made in the Commitment to America. The series of policy proposals that have passed through committee markups with full debate are a common-sense response to the chaos unleashed by the Biden Administration and would prevent further abuse of immigration laws to usher in even more mass illegal immigration. The package sets a strong baseline for conservative border security and enforcement policies for years to come, and with it, the conference has united behind legislation that would secure our sovereignty, security, and well-being.

The coalition also underscored the importance of what the final product contains:

These policies include key statutory reforms made to prevent the abuse of our asylum system and our parole laws, and the exploitation of unaccompanied alien children, all of which the Biden Administration relies upon to import illegal aliens into the United States at an industrial scale. The package builds on successes of the Trump Administration in cementing into law Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), ending catching and release, and working towards Asylum Cooperative Agreements (ACAs) to end country shopping by illegal aliens. The policies also resume construction of the border wall, provide support to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and end the Biden Administration’s reliance on non-governmental organizations to process and transport illegal aliens into communities around the country. Lastly, the package seeks to ensure a lawful workforce with mandatory E-Verify, which would turn off the jobs magnet for illegal immigration while protecting jobs for American workers.

The letter concludes with a firm message:

When the Secure the Border Act passes the House of Representatives in the coming weeks, the Republican-controlled House will have shown the American people a forceful and serious response to the worst border crisis in American history. The work will then turn to the Senate, where Senators can decide if they share in the cause in securing our border once and for all.

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