FIRST ON FOX: A pair of congressional Republicans introduced a border strategy bill as the White House considers ending a Trump-era COVID-19 border policy.
FOX News Digital exclusively obtained the bill text and press release for the Comprehensive Southern Border Strategy Act introduced on Tuesday by GOP Reps. Young Kim of California and Michael Guest of Mississippi.
The lawmakers point out in their release that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) currently has a border strategy for the northern U.S. border, but not one for the southern border in crisis.
“Border security is imperative for national security, public safety and economic success of communities,” Kim, a freshman congresswoman who represents a border state said in the release. “As we see the border crisis continue to reach record-high numbers of illegal migrant and illicit drug encounters, we must ensure that our government, regardless of who is leading the administration, is making border security a priority.”
“The Comprehensive Southern Border Strategy Act will help better allocate resources to secure our border and equip our border patrol and CBP officers on the front lines with the tools they need to gain operational control of every mile of our U.S.-Mexico border,” she continued. “We have a strategy for our Northern border, and it’s past time we have one for our Southern border.”
“For over a year, the Biden Administration has targeted the legal and physical infrastructure that law enforcement agents rely upon to secure our southwest border and has continued to send mixed messages often interpreted by potential migrants that the border is open to any and all who wish to cross,” Guest, the House Homeland Security Committee vice ranking member, said in the release.
“Despite the chaos caused by the Biden Administration’s actions, the President, Vice President, and Biden-appointed DHS officials have refused to develop any actionable plan to address the border crisis. It’s time to hold them accountable to the American people,” he continued.
The bill would require DHS to give to the House and Senate a “comprehensive strategy” for the southern border within a year of the bill’s enactment that includes an “overview of the current security risks at the Southern border” and the “tools” DHS uses to “combat drug trafficking with a focus on fentanyl and related substances.”
Additionally, the bill would require DHS to provide a “detailed account” as to “of which type of physical barrier, technology or other device DHS believes is best to maintain operational control for each mile of the Southern border and why.”
The Republicans’ bill comes as Customs and Border Protection (CBP) predicts a surge of illegal immigrants at the southern border and Democratic senators warn President Biden against ending his predecessor’s Title 42 without having a “comprehensive plan” in place.
“We write to you to express great concern about the lack of a specific plan from your Administration with respect to potential changes to the Title 42 Public Health authority, which the [DHS] has relied on at the border during the coronavirus pandemic,” Democrat Sens. Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Kelly of Arizona wrote to Biden in a letter.
“Given the impacts that changes to Title 42 could have on border communities, border security, and migrants, we urge your administration not to make any changes to Title 42 implementation until you are completely ready to execute and coordinate a comprehensive plan that ensures a secure, orderly, and humane process at the border,” they say.
The Biden administration is widely reported to be considering ending Title 42 — a Trump-era order implemented in March 2020 that allows for the quick expulsion of migrants at the border due to the COVID-19 pandemic — when it is due for renewal next week.
