Title 42 Ends, 'Secure the Border Act' Passes House

With Title 42 officially ending, a new immigration bill has passed. House Resolution 2 (H.R. 2), also known as the Secure the Border Act, has passed the House and is on its way to the Senate.

The new controversial legislation allows the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to resume activities to construct a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Furthermore, the bill states that it is able to limit "asylum eligibility to non-U.S. nationals who arrive in the United States at a port of entry as well as the removal of a non-U.S. national into a country other than that individual's country of nationality or last lawful habitual residence."

H.R. 2 also focuses on what criminal activity constitutes deportation by expanding "the types of crimes that may make an individual ineligible for asylum, such as a conviction for driving while intoxicated, causing another person's serious bodily injury or death."

The bill passed with 219 yeas and 211 nays. Of the 211 nays, only 2 were Republicans.

The vote for "Yeas" include Texas and Florida Representatives Jodey Arrington (R), Brian Babin (R), Michael C. Burgess (R), John R. Carter (R), Michael Cloud (R), Dan Crenshaw (R), Monica De La Cruz (R), Jake Ellzy (R), Pat Fallon (R), Tony Gonzales (R), Lance Gooden (R), Kay Granger (R), Wesley Hunt (R), Ronny Jackson (R), Morgan Luttrell (R), Michael T. McCaul (R), Nathaniel Moran (R), Troy Nehls (R), August Pfluger (R), Chip Roy (R), Keith Self (R), Pete Sessions (R),  Beth Van Duyne (R), Randy K. Weber, Sr. (R), Roger Williams (R), Aaron Bean (R), Gus M. Bilirakis (R), Vern Buchanan (R), Kat Cammack (R), Mario Diaz-Balart (R), Byron Donalds (R), Neal P. Dunn (R), Scott C. Franklin (R), Matt Gaetz (R), Carlos A. Gimenez (R), Laurel M. Lee (R), Anna Paulina Luna (R), Brian J. Mast (R), Cory Mills (R), Bill Posey (R), John Rutherford (R), Maria Elvira Salazar (R), W. Gregory Steube (R), Michael Waltz (R) and Daniel Webster (R).

The "Nays," however, included Texas and Florida Representatives Colin Z. Allred (D), Greg Casar (D), Joaquin Castro (D), Jasmine Crockett (D), Henry Cuellar (D), Lloyd Doggett (D), Veronica Escobar (D), Lizzie Fletcher (D), Sylvia R. Garcia (D), Vicente Gonzalez (D), Al Green (D), Sheila Jackson Lee (D), Marc A. Veasey (D), Kathy Castor (D), Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D), Lois Frankel (D), Maxwell Frost (D), Darren Soto (D), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D) and Frederica S. Wilson (D).

Biden’s proposed amount for funding is over $500 million. However, Cornyn believes the amount is much smaller when put into perspective.

"While the President's request for $535 million may sound like a lot of money – and it is a lot of money – but when you compare it to other line-items in his budget, it starts to look a whole lot smaller," stated Cornyn.

Cornyn stated, "The administration wants to hire an additional 350 Border Patrol agents, which would be a great start, but the White House isn't taking any action to address underlying barriers to hiring those agents."

The congressman called for new action, stating, "These additions are 

desperately needed, but that's only one piece of the solution. A huge part of the solution lies in deterrence."