{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.cotton.senate.gov/news/press-releases/cotton-introduces-bill-to-enforce-stricter-asylum-standards", "Cotton Introduces Bill to Enforce Stricter Asylum Standards", "2025-12-16", "2025", "2025-12", "Republican", "Senate", "AR", "Tom Cotton", "C001095", "www.cotton.senate.gov", "cotton", "https://www.cotton.senate.gov/news/press-releases", "scraper", "FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE\n\nContact: Patrick McCann (202) 224-2353\n\nDecember 16, 2025\n\nCotton Introduces Bill to Enforce Stricter Asylum Standards\n\nWashington, DC \u2014 Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) today introduced legislation to close loopholes in the current asylum process. The Asylum Reform & Loophole Closure Act will enforce stricter standards for asylum seekers entering the United States, including making illegal migrants permanently ineligible for asylum and enforcing the one-year filing deadline.\n\n\u201cToo often asylum seekers are abusing our process by staying here indefinitely draining Arkansas taxpayer\u2019s dollars. My bill will enforce stricter standards by closing loopholes that are frequently exploited,\u201d said Senator Cotton.\n\nText of the bill can be found here.\n\nThe Asylum Reform & Loophole Closure Act would:\n\nImplement a stricter standard for individuals claiming asylum.\n\nMake any alien who commits illegal entry or visa fraud permanently ineligible for asylum.\n\nEnforce a one-year filing deadline for asylum with zero exceptions.\n\nMake any alien who transited through a country where they could have applied for asylum (Mexico, Costo Rica, etc.) ineligible for asylum in the U.S. unless they actually applied and were denied.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T20:09:11Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.cotton.senate.gov/news/press-releases/cotton-introduces-bill-to-enforce-stricter-asylum-standards"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.988153835758567, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}