Rep. Troy Nehls has introduced legislation to improve border security and speed up deportations by aiming for the numbers of people who are included on the terrorist watchlist and who are making their way into the United States, saying that Americans deserve to know who is entering the country.
"These individuals coming across are no longer your 'Average Joes,'" the Texas Republican said in a statement to The Daily Caller. "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."
The bills were introduced on Aug. 12. HR 8710 requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to submit quarterly reports about the total number of people who have been identified as being on the terrorist screening database who are caught coming across the U.S. border.
HR 8709 directs the department to prioritize the removal of "certain immigrants" and prevents the use of prosecutorial discretion to avoid deportations.
The prosecutorial discretion bill reinstates a 2017 executive order from then-president Donald Trump that required executive departments and agencies to "employ all lawful means to enforce the immigration laws of the United States."
The order, though, was superseded by guidance from the Biden administration in April that called for the use of prosecutorial discretion, saying that it is an "indispensable feature of any functioning legal system," as it "can preserve limited government resources, achieve just and fair outcomes in individual cases, and advance DHS's mission of administering and enforcing the immigration laws of the United States in a smart and sensible way that promotes public confidence."
The discretion bill also outlines several crime categories that could lead to deportations, including immigration fraud and welfare benefit abuse.
More than 2.2 million migrants have been encountered at the border in FY 2022, which ends in October. This already surpasses FY 2021's totals by more than 400,000 people.
Republicans have released a plan to cut illegal immigration and say they'll work to enact it if they regain control of Congress in the November election.
The plan includes finishing the border wall, funding monitoring technology, and passing E-Verify services, as well as reinstating the Migrant Protection Protocols, more commonly known as the "remain in Mexico" policy that keeps immigrants out of the United States while their asylum procedures are pending.
Their plan also includes increasing budget amounts for ICE and the Border Patrol.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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