{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.lee.senate.gov/2024/2/senator-lee-releases-dirty-dozen-disasters-in-so-called-border-deal", "Senator Lee Releases \u201cDirty Dozen\u201d Disasters in So-Called \u201cBorder Deal\u201d", "2024-02-05", "2024", "2024-02", "Republican", "Senate", "UT", "Mike Lee", "L000577", "www.lee.senate.gov", "mikelee", "https://www.lee.senate.gov/press-releases", "scraper", "The proposed border deal will not secure our border. Passing it into law would worsen the border crisis. Here\u2019s why:\n\nCODIFIES CATCH AND RELEASE: Gives the Secretary of Homeland Security unchecked authority to release an alien into the United States under ineffective \u201calternatives to detention.\u201d The illegals only have to express \u201ccredible fear\u201d of persecution or the intent to apply for \u201cprotection determination.\u201d (SEC. 235B)\n\nALLOWS UP TO 1.8 MILLION ILLEGAL ALIENS TO ENTER BEFORE TEMPORARILY CLOSING PARTS OF THE BORDER: The Secretary of Homeland Security is only required to shut down the border if there are 5,000 average illegal crossings over a consecutive seven-day period or 8,500 in a single day. The Secretary may shut down the border if crossings are at 4,000 daily average over a consecutive seven-day period. Even during a border emergency, this bill requires the administration to process a minimum of 1,400 illegal immigrants a day. This is 400 more per day than Obama\u2019s DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson said constituted a crisis in 2019. (SEC. 244B)\n\nLOOPHOLES: Does not count any unaccompanied alien children from non-contiguous countries, suspected trafficking victims, aliens who are determined \u201cexempted\u201d based on decisions by ICE, or aliens who meet screening criteria for asylum. Also allows the reopening of the border once encounters are at 75% of the number that caused the shut down, so if the number was 10,000 per day, it only has to be reduced to 7,500/day to reopen.\n\nLIMITED DURATION: Limits the number of days each year where authority to shut down the border can be in place: 270 days in first calendar year, 225 days in the second year and 180 days in the third year. The period that this \u201cborder shutdown\u201d is mandatory decreases \u2013 in year one, the first 90 days are mandatory; in year two, the first 75 days are mandatory; and in year three, only the first 60 days are mandatory.\n\nPRESIDENTIAL DISCRETION: Allows the president to reopen the border any time it is in the \u201cnational interest to temporarily suspend the border emergency authority\u201d for up to 45 days.\n\nFUNDS SANCTUARY CITIES AND NGOs SENDING ILLEGALS AROUND THE COUNTRY: Includes $1.4 BILLION for more FEMA grants to NGOs that provide shelter, transportation, legal advice and other services to illegal aliens and $2.3 BILLION to HHS for Refugee Entrant And Assistance, a slush fund for services to unaccompanied alien children.\n\nSUBSIDIZES FREE, TAXPAYER-FUNDED LEGAL COUNSEL TO ILLEGAL ALIENS: Orders the Secretary of Health and Human Services to ensure that \u201call unaccompanied alien children who are or have been in the custody of the Secretary of Health and Human Services or the Secretary of Homeland Security\u2026have counsel to represent them in legal proceedings\u201d and free legal counsel for any illegal alien who a judge determines is mentally \u201cincompetent.\u201d Mandates that the government provide legal counsel for UACs 13 years old and under. (SEC. 3512-3513)\n\nEXPANDS PAROLE INSTEAD OF LIMITING IT: Does nothing to meaningfully limit President Biden\u2019s abuse of parole. The language makes a fake exemption that seems to sanction Mayorkas' current abuse of parole. Under this bill, Mayorkas can parole in all these groups with the implicit approval of Congress. It also creates a dangerous EXPANSION of parole by saying it can now be granted for anyone the DHS Secretary determines has an \u201curgent humanitarian reason\u201d to stay and any \u201cculturally important purpose warranting the alien\u2019s presence in the United States on Tribal land located at or near an international land border.\u201d (SEC. 3146)\n\nINCREASES GREEN CARDS BY 50,000 PER YEAR FOR FIVE YEARS: This includes 32,000 family-based green cards and 18,000 employment-based green cards. Hurts American workers by importing cheap foreign labor. (SEC. 3402)\n\nWORK PERMIT FOR ADULT CHILDREN OF H-1B VISA HOLDERS: Hurts American workers by providing indefinite work permits to an estimated 250,000 adult children of H-1B nonimmigrant visa holders who will be competing for jobs with recent college graduates. (SEC. 3403)\n\nIMMEDIATE WORK PERMITS TO EVERY ILLEGAL RELEASED FROM CUSTODY AFTER THEY PASS AN INITIAL SCREENING: Current law requires a 6 months waiting period after filing an asylum claim before you can apply for a work permit. Under this bill, applicants are granted an IMMEDIATE work permit if they pass the initial asylum credible fear screening. (SEC. 235C)\n\nNOTHING TO DEPORT ILLEGALS: Does not require the President or Secretary of Homeland Security to deport anyone.\n\nAFGHAN ADJUSTMENT ACT: Creates a pathway to citizenship for over 60,000 poorly vetted Afghans who were brought to the country due to President Biden\u2019s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan. (SEC. 331)\n\nWEAKENS ASYLUM SCREENING BY CODIFYING BIDEN POLICY: Codifies the Biden asylum officer regulation and empowers USCIS asylum officers to grant asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture without review by an Immigration Judge, ensuring significantly higher approval rates. (SEC. 3141)\n\nNO IMMEDIATE FUNDING FOR THE WALL: The bill claims to give $650 million for \u201cbuilding the border wall.\u201d This is a budgeting gimmick without any new money. The bill would simply rescind current money and then put it back in with a later date (FY2028) so that President Biden and Sec. Mayorkas don\u2019t have to build any wall and can delay spending money on the border wall. (SEC. 205)", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T17:48:26Z"]], "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.lee.senate.gov/2024/2/senator-lee-releases-dirty-dozen-disasters-in-so-called-border-deal"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7025799714028835, "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"}