Stopping Border Surges Act

This bill changes federal immigration law on unaccompanied children, family detention, and asylum. It would allow unaccompanied children from any country, not only Canada and Mexico, to be returned under existing screening rules, and would require the Department of Health and Human Services to give the Department of Homeland Security information about adults who take in these children so their immigration status can be checked. It would allow families to be held in detention together and bar states from requiring licenses for family detention facilities. It would limit asylum to people who arrive at a port of entry, generally bar asylum for people who passed through another country without seeking protection there, shorten the filing deadline from 1 year to 6 months, and delay work permits for asylum applicants. It would also end asylum status for people who return to their home country, add a criminal penalty of up to 10 years in prison for asylum fraud, and require interviews in expedited removal to be recorded.

Full text and official record on Congress.gov

Sponsors

• Mike Lee Republican sponsor
• 7 cosponsors