Stopping Border Surges Act
Latest action. Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Stopping Border Surges Act
This bill modifies immigration law provisions relating to unaccompanied alien minors and to asylum seekers.
For certain unaccompanied inadmissible alien children, generally those not at risk of being trafficking victims nor having a fear of persecution, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shall repatriate the child. Currently, only inadmissible unaccompanied aliens from neighboring countries are subject to repatriation, and DHS has discretion whether to repatriate.
When the Department of Health and Human Services releases an unaccompanied child to an individual, it must provide DHS with certain information about that individual. DHS must investigate the individual's immigration status and if the individual is not lawfully present in the United States, DHS must initiate removal proceedings against the individual.
The bill requires a stricter standard to find a credible fear of persecution and imposes additional rules on credible fear interviews.
If an alien is granted asylum because of fear of persecution in a country, the alien shall be deemed to have renounced asylum status by returning to that country, if there has been no change in the country's conditions.
The bill also (1) expands the definition of what constitutes a frivolous asylum application, (2) imposes additional limitations on eligibility for asylum, (3) shortens the deadline for applying for asylum, and (4) extends the time period an alien seeking asylum must wait before receiving employment authorization.
Any individual who knowingly and willfully makes materially false statements or uses fraudulent documents in asylum-related proceedings shall be fined or imprisoned up to 10 years, or both.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on March 7, 2023. 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 March 7, 2023: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- 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 118th Congress (2023-24), 274 of the 16,565 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 1.7 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 Lee (R-UT) introduced it on March 7, 2023, and 13 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 13 Republicans.
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 March 7, 2023, 1283 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 1283 days ago, on March 7, 2023.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 118th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2025 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
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers