Asylum Reform and Border Protection Act of 2019
Latest action. Referred to the subcommitteeA smaller panel inside a standing committee with jurisdiction over a slice of its subject matter. Most hearings and the first markup usually happen here.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) on Immigration and citizenshipFull membership in the national political community: the right to vote in federal elections, hold most federal offices, carry a U.S. passport, and never be deported.Read the full definition (opens a new tab).
Asylum Reform and Border Protection Act of 2019
This bill makes various immigration-related changes, such as restricting Department of Homeland Security (DHS) authority to parole certain aliens.
The bill (1) bars the government from paying for counsel for a person in any immigration proceeding before DHS or the Department of Justice, whereas currently the prohibition only applies to removal proceedings; and (2) raises the burden on an alien to establish the alien's claimed fear of persecution when seeking asylum.
DHS shall standardize questions asked in expedited removal proceedings and record such proceedings.
DHS may parole an alien into the United States only on an individualized basis and may not use eligibility criteria describing an entire class of people. The bill imposes additional restrictions on such parole authority.
The bill removes an exception which allows an unaccompanied alien child to seek asylum while in the United States (or upon arrival at the U.S. border) even if the child may be removed to a safe third country where the child may seek asylum.
The bill also bars an alien from seeking asylum while in the United States (or upon arrival at the U.S. border) if the alien may be removed to a safe third country where the alien may seek asylum. Currently, this bar only applies if the United States has an agreement with the third country.
The bill bars several grounds for asylum related to generalized violence.
The bill expands what constitutes a frivolous asylum application to include those filed solely to delay removal, among others. Currently, an application is frivolous only if any material elements are deliberately fabricated.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on June 19, 2019. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on July 30, 2019: Referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 116th Congress (2019-20), 344 of the 14,345 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.4 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Mike Johnson (R-LA) introduced it on June 19, 2019, and 1 member has since signed on as a cosponsor.
They are 1 Republican.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on June 19, 2019, 2640 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 2599 days ago, on July 30, 2019.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 116th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2021 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers