House Republicans advanced key border security and immigration legislation after a Wednesday bill markup that ran for nearly 12 hours.
The House Judiciary Committee approved the Border Security and Enforcement Act of 2023 on a 23-15 vote, and the legislation will now advance to the House floor. Lawmakers debated amendments about E-Verify, use of parol and unaccompanied minors at the border, according to the Washington Examiner.
NEW: Republicans have cleared the first hurdle in a quest to pass key border security and immigration legislation and fulfill leadership’s campaign promise to resolve the crisis as its first order of business.
https://t.co/EXmPA6YE7I @JudiciaryGOP @Jim_Jordan @RepChipRoy
— Anna Giaritelli (@Anna_Giaritelli) April 20, 2023
California Rep. Tom McClintock and Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs introduced the legislation to combat record levels of illegal migration under the Biden administration. The bill contains various measures to bolster the Homeland Security Department’s border enforcement capabilities and proposes reforms to the asylum system previously introduced by the Trump administration, according to the Center for Immigration Studies. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Family That Lost Loved Ones Thanks To Illegal Migrant Smuggler Slams Mayorkas: ‘We Live In Fear’)
House Republicans led by Speaker Kevin McCarthy have made border security a top priority since taking over the lower chamber in January. The Biden administration has come under fire for reportedly ignoring warnings about migrant children being exploited for child labor purposes, with over 250,000 unaccompanied migrant children coming into the U.S. in the past two years.
Border patrol agents are bracing for a surge in illegal immigration when the Trump administration’s Title 42 expulsion order comes to an end May 11. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told lawmakers he is preparing for a “surge” in migrant encounters at the southern border when Title 42 expires.