Republican Texas Rep. Troy Nehls introduced two bills Friday, Aug. 12, intended to beef up security and speed up deportations along the U.S. border with Mexico.
The two bills, obtained exclusively by the Daily Caller, would require the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to provide reports about migrants on the DHS terrorist watch list and prevent the department from using prosecutorial discretion to avoid deporting illegal immigrants. Law enforcement officials have encountered 66 individuals on the terror watchlist along the U.S.-Mexico border during Fiscal Year 2022, according to data compiled by Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
“As we face a catastrophic border crisis, it’s critical we do everything we can to keep our borders and keep our communities safe,” Nehls said in a statement to the Daily Caller. “Congress and the American public deserve to know who is attempting to cross our southern border. These individuals coming across are no longer your ‘Average Joes.’ These are known terrorists, who are attempting to sneak into our country through Mexico and are succeeding as a result of Joe Biden’s disastrous border policies.”
Read the bills here:
NEHLS_ Prosecutorial Discretion Bill by Henry Rodgers on Scribd
(DAILY CALLER OBTAINED) — NEHLS_Terrorist Bill (1) by Henry Rodgers on Scribd
President Donald Trump issued an executive order in 2017 requiring that “executive departments and agencies … employ all lawful means to enforce the immigration laws of the United States.” That order was superseded by guidance directing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) attorneys to consider whether illegal immigrants are threats to public safety or just entered the country illegally. (RELATED: Biden Border Officials Barely Implementing Remain In Mexico Policy After Months Fighting It)
Nehls’ prosecutorial discretion bill reinstates Trump’s executive order while making several crime categories eligible for deportation. Those include immigration fraud and abuse of welfare benefits.
Border officials have encountered more than 2.2 million migrants during FY2022 alone, passing FY2021’s record total by more than 400,000 in two fewer months. ACBP does not publicly disclose the agency’s official total known “gotaways.” The New York Post reported in late July that more than 550,000 migrants successfully evaded law enforcement.
Republicans have released a multi-point plan to cut down on illegal immigration that they will put into practice if they win back control of Congress after the midterms. The plan includes completing the southern border wall, funding new monitoring technologies and passing E-Verify. They also propose reinstating the Migrant Protection Protocols and increasing the budgets of ICE and CBP.
Congress last passed comprehensive immigration reform in 1986.