Wikipedia

H.R. 5230 (113th Congress)

The bill H.R. 5230, also known as the Secure the Southwest Border Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2014 and the Secure the Southwest Border Act of 2014, is a bill that would provide supplemental FY2014 appropriations to several federal agencies for expenses related to the rise in unaccompanied alien children and alien adults accompanied by an alien minor at the southwest border.[1] The bill would also change the procedures for screening and processing unaccompanied alien children who arrive at the border from certain countries.[1] The bill would provide $659 million in supplemental funding.[2]

H.R. 5230
Great Seal of the United States
Long titleMaking supplemental appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2014, and for other purposes.
Announced inthe 113th United States Congress
Sponsored byRep. Hal Rogers (R-KY)
Codification
Agencies affectedUnited States Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, United States Department of Defense, United States Department of Justice, United States Department of Health and Human Services
Appropriations$659 million
Legislative history

The bill was introduced into the United States House of Representatives during the 113th United States Congress. The Senate introduced the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2014 (S. 2648; 113th Congress) to address the same issues.[2]

Background

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Main articles: Children's immigration crisis and Illegal immigration to the United States

The children's immigration crisis refers to the surge in unaccompanied children from Central America seeking entrance to the United States. The surge has increased rapidly, doubling in volume each year,[3] reaching crisis proportions in 2014 when tens of thousands of women and children from Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador migrated to the United States.[4] Many of the children had no parent/legal guardian available to provide care or physical custody and quickly overwhelmed local border patrols.[5]

The provisions of H.R. 7311, William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008, signed into law by George W. Bush give substantial rights[6] and protection to unaccompanied children from countries which do not have a common border with the United States. This made expeditious deportation of the large number of children from Central America difficult and expensive, prompting a call by President Barack Obama for an emergency appropriation of nearly $4 billion[7] and resulted in discussions on how to interpret or revise the 2008 law in order to expedite handling large numbers of unaccompanied children.[8]

Provisions of the bill

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This summary is based largely on the summary provided by the Congressional Research Service, a public domain source.[1]

The Secure the Southwest Border Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2014 would provide supplemental FY2014 appropriations for the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), including U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE); the United States Department of Defense (DOD); the United States Department of Justice (DOJ); and the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for expenses related to the rise in unaccompanied alien children and alien adults accompanied by an alien minor at the southwest border.[1]

The bill would permit funds previously appropriated for the United States Department of State, foreign operations, and related programs for assistance to the countries in Central America to be used for repatriation and reintegration activities.[1]

The bill would specify other authorized, restricted, and prohibited uses of appropriated funds.[1]

The bill would include rescissions of funds previously appropriated to various federal agencies.[1]

The Secure the Southwest Border Act of 2014 would amend the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Authorization Act of 2008 to change the procedures for screening and processing unaccompanied alien children who arrive at the border from certain countries.[1]

The bill would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to include the commission of certain drug-related offenses as grounds for per se ineligibility for asylum.[1]

The bill would permit appropriations provided to DOD under this Act to be used for the National Guard to provide support for operations on the southern border.[1]

The bill would prohibit the United States Secretary of the Interior and the United States Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) from impeding, prohibiting, or restricting certain CBP activities on federal lands.[1]

The bill would express the sense of Congress that the United States Secretary of Defense should not allow the placement of unauthorized aliens at military installations unless certain conditions are met.[1]

Congressional Budget Office report

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This summary is based largely on the summary provided by the Congressional Budget Office, a public domain source.[9]

Division B of H.R. 5230, the Secure the Southwest Border Act of 2014, would amend the rules that apply to unaccompanied alien children, particularly children from countries other than Mexico or Canada. Among other changes, such children would now have the option to voluntarily depart the United States without appearing before an immigration judge. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) considers it likely that enacting Division B would reduce the number of children present in the United States receiving means‐tested federal benefits, thereby reducing direct spending for such benefits. However, CBO cannot estimate the potential reduction in direct spending at this time.[9]

Procedural history

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H.R. 5230 was introduced into the United States House of Representatives on July 29, 2014, by Rep. Hal Rogers (R-KY).[10] The bill was referred to the United States House Committee on Appropriations.[10] The House was scheduled to vote on the bill on July 31, 2014, but the Republican leadership canceled the vote because they did not have enough votes to pass the bill at that time.[2]

On July 30, 2014, President Barack Obama released a statement of administration policy stating that "his senior adivsors would recommend he veto the bill" if it were presented to him for his signature.[11]

Debate and discussion

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On July 9, 2014, a hearing on the crisis was held by the United States Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. The testimony of Statement of Craig Fugate Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency U.S. Department of Homeland Security was that "We are talking about large numbers of children, without their parents, who have arrived at our border—hungry, thirsty, exhausted, scared and vulnerable."[12][13] Senator Dianne Feinstein compared the crisis to the American refusal to accept Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany aboard the MS St. Louis.[14] The President's request for additional funds was met in both houses of Congress by proposals to modify or eliminate the rights granted by the 2008 reauthorization of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000[15]

A 2014 Mother Jones article suggests many of these unaccompanied children are attempting to escape abusive situations.[16] Analysis of Border Patrol statistics[17] shows a correlation between gang-related killing of children in Central America, particularly San Pedro Sula in Honduras, and the surge in migration.[18]

In a statement of administration policy, the Obama Administration announced their strong opposition to the bill. According to the statement, "by setting arbitrary timelines for the processing of cases, this bill could create backlogs that could ultimately shift resources away from priority public safety goals like deporting known criminals."[11] The Administration also charged that the bill would hurt due process for the children and could result in children being sent back "to life threatening situations in foreign countries."[11] The Administration also objected that the "limited resources provided in H.R. 5230 are not designated as emergency, but rather come at the expense of other Government functions."[11]

This bill would provide significantly less than President Obama's requested $3.7 billion.[2] It would also provide less than the $2.7 billion found in the Senate supplemental funding bill.[2]

Rep. Hal Rogers, who introduced the bill, urged members to pass the bill, arguing that "more and more immigrants will continue to flood across the border if you fail to act" because resources were running out.[2]

Democratic opposition to the bill stemmed from the changes it would make to the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 which would allow unaccompanied child migrants to be deported faster.[2]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "H.R. 5230 - Summary". United States Congress. Retrieved July 31, 2014.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Marcos, Cristina (July 31, 2014). "House cancels border vote". The Hill. Retrieved July 31, 2014.
  3. ^ Regional Office United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for the United States and the Caribbean (March 2014). "Children on the Run: Unaccompanied children leaving Central America and Mexico and the Need for International Protection" (PDF). unhcrwashington.org. Washington, D.C.: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. p. 15. Retrieved July 11, 2013.
  4. ^ Tom Dart (July 9, 2014). "Child migrants at Texas border: an immigration crisis that's hardly new South Texas has become preferred point of entry with arrivals up 178% year on year, with a spike in those from Central America". The Guardian. Houston. Retrieved July 10, 2014.
  5. ^ 6 U.S.C. § 279(g)(2)
  6. ^ "Rights of Children in the Immigration Process" (PDF). aclu.org. ACLU Immigrant Rights' Project. July 2014. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
  7. ^ Michael D. Shear and Jeremy W. Peters (July 8, 2014). "Obama Asks for $3.7 Billion to Aid Border". The New York Times. Retrieved July 9, 2014. an urgent humanitarian situation.
  8. ^ Carl Hulse (July 9, 2014). "Immigrant Surge Rooted in Law to Curb Child Trafficking". The New York Times. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
  9. ^ a b "CBO - H.R. 5230" (PDF). Congressional Budget Office. Retrieved July 31, 2014.
  10. ^ a b "H.R. 5230 - All Actions". United States Congress. Retrieved July 31, 2014.
  11. ^ a b c d "Statement of Administration Police on H.R. 5230" (PDF). Executive Office of the President. July 30, 2014. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 22, 2017. Retrieved July 31, 2014.
  12. ^ Statement of Craig Fugate Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency U.S. Department of Homeland Security
  13. ^ "Challenges at the Border: Examining the Causes, Consequences, and Responses to the Rise in Apprehensions at the Southern Border". hsgac.senate.gov. United States Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. July 9, 2014. Retrieved July 10, 2014. Our border security system has been overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of these children and families.
  14. ^ "Obama Challenges Perry to Rally GOP Around Border Plan". Retrieved July 15, 2014.
  15. ^ Ashley Parker (July 10, 2014). "G.O.P. Pushes Back on Approving Border Funds". The New York Times. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  16. ^ Gordon, Ian (August 2014). "70,000 Kids Will Show Up Alone at Our Border This Year. What Happens to Them?". Mother Jones. Retrieved June 21, 2014.
  17. ^ "Unaccompanied Alien Children (UACs) by Location of Origin for CY 2014: Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala" (PDF). adamisacson.com. Homeland Intelligence Today. May 27, 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 2, 2014. Retrieved July 10, 2014.
  18. ^ Frances Robles (July 10, 2014). "Fleeing Gangs, Children Head to U.S. Border". The New York Times. Retrieved July 10, 2014.
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