The GOP-led House on Thursday passed a significant and wide-ranging border security and asylum reform package, just as the U.S. braces for a new migrant surge with the looming end of Title 42.
The Secure the Border Act was a months-long effort to deliver on promises made during the 2022 midterm campaigns on both securing the besieged southern border and making fixes to the immigration and asylum process, which Republicans believe is being exploited.
The bill marks another major win for House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and includes measures to restart border wall construction and increase in the number of Border Patrol agents.
MATAMOROS, MEXICO – MAY 11: Migrants speak with members of the Texas National Guard and other law enforcement officials after crossing the Rio Grande to try and enter the United States on May 11, 2023 in Matamoros, Mexico. (Joe Raedle)
It would also that would enshrine the Trump-era Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), change laws related to unaccompanied children and restrict the use by the federal government of humanitarian parole.
The House has hoped to pass the bill over the winter, but Republicans had struggled to find consensus.
It comes just hours before the Title 42 public health order is due to expire, which has seen migrants surging to the border in the hope of being released into the U.S. once the order ends.
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