Here’s an AI summary of the Border Act of 2024.
The Border Act of 2024 (S. 4361), negotiated by Senators James Lankford (R-OK), Chris Murphy (D-CT), and Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), was a proposed bipartisan bill that aimed to significantly reform the U.S. immigration and asylum systems. It was not enacted into law, as it failed to pass procedural votes in the Senate in February and May 2024.
The bill was originally part of a larger emergency spending package that included foreign aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan.
Key Provisions of the Lankford-Murphy Immigration Bill
The bill included major policy changes and substantial funding increases for border enforcement:
Border Security & Enforcement
- Emergency Border Authority: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary would gain new authority to “shut down” the border to most migrant entries if the average number of encounters reached specific thresholds (e.g., 4,000 in a single day, or an average of 5,000 over a seven-day period).
- Increased Staffing and Detention:
- Funded an increase in ICE detention capacity to 50,000 beds (from 41,500).
- Provided authority for DHS, ICE, and CBP to hire personnel using direct-hire procedures to address staffing shortages.
- Funded an additional 100 immigration judges and staff to help reduce a backlog of over two million cases.
- Border Wall Construction: The bill recapitalized over $650 million for constructing and reinforcing the border wall.
- Technology and Fentanyl: Included funding for 100 new inspection machines to detect fentanyl and other illicit drugs at ports of entry.
Asylum Process Changes
- Higher Asylum Standard: The bill would have created a higher, stricter standard for initial asylum screenings (known as the “credible fear” standard), making it more difficult for migrants to remain in the U.S. while their claims were adjudicated.
- Expedited Proceedings: Established new “provisional noncustodial removal proceedings” designed to process asylum claims within six months, using asylum officers instead of immigration courts to expedite the process.
- Criminal Bars: Individuals with certain criminal convictions (such as a DWI causing serious injury or death) would be immediately deported and barred from asylum eligibility.
- Limitations on Parole: The legislation aimed to significantly limit the use of humanitarian parole at land borders between ports of entry, while keeping the specific parole programs for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans in place at official ports of entry.
Other Provisions
- Afghan Allies: Provided a pathway to conditional permanent residency for certain Afghan nationals who were evacuated after the U.S. withdrawal in 2021.
- Funding for Cities/States: Allocated $1.4 billion for cities and states providing services to newly arrived migrants.
Status of the Bill
The bill faced strong opposition from many Republicans, who argued it did not go far enough to secure the border and criticized it as a “nonstarter”. Some Democrats and immigration advocacy groups also opposed the bill, arguing that the asylum restrictions were too harsh and compromised humanitarian protections. Ultimately, the bill did not pass the Senate and has not become law.
Immigration Insight 