H.R. 2 (118th)Bill Overview

Secure the Border Act of 2023

domestic policy
Cosponsors
Support
Republican
Introduced
May 2, 2023
Discussions
Current stageCommittee

Referred to the Subcommittee on Social Security.

Introduced
Committee
Floor
President
Law
Congressional Activities
01 · The brief
Plain-English summaryWhat this bill actually does

<p><b>Secure the Border Act of 2023 </b></p> <p>This bill addresses issues regarding immigration and border security, including by imposing limits to asylum eligibility.</p> <p>For example, the bill</p> <ul> <li>requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to resume activities to construct a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border; </li> <li>provides statutory authorization for Operation Stonegarden, which provides grants to law enforcement agencies for certain border security operations;</li> <li>prohibits DHS from processing the entry of non-U.S. nationals (<i>aliens</i> under federal law) arriving between ports of entry;</li> <li>limits asylum eligibility to non-U.S. nationals who arrive in the United States at a port of entry;</li> <li>authorizes the removal of a non-U.S. national to a country other than that individual's country of nationality or last lawful habitual residence, whereas currently this type of removal may only be to a country that has an agreement with the United States for such removal;</li> <li>expands 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; </li> <li>authorizes DHS to suspend the introduction of certain non-U.S. nationals at an international border if DHS determines that the suspension is necessary to achieve operational control of that border;</li> <li>prohibits states from imposing licensing requirements on immigration detention facilities used to detain minors;</li> <li>authorizes immigration officers to permit an unaccompanied alien child to withdraw their application for admission into the United States even if the child is unable to make an independent decision to withdraw the application;</li> <li>imposes additional penalties for overstaying a visa; and</li> <li>requires DHS to create an electronic employment eligibility confirmation system modeled after the E-Verify system and requires all employers to use the system.</li> </ul>

Why people may split

The main political fault lines are not fully surfaced yet, so coalition durability is still unclear.

Watch point

The next hurdle is reproducing that support in the other chamber.

<p><b>Secure the Border Act of 2023 </b></p> <p>This bill addresses issues regarding immigration and border security, including by imposing limits to asylum eligibility.</p> <p>For example, the bill</p> <ul> <li>requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to resume activities to construct a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border; </li> <li>provides statutory authorization for Operation Stonegarden, which provides grants to law enforcement agencies for certain border security operations;</li> <li>prohibits DHS from processing the entry of non-U.S. nationals (<i>aliens</i> under federal law) arriving between ports of entry;</li> <li>limits asylum eligibility to non-U.S. nationals who arrive in the United States at a port of entry;</li> <li>authorizes the removal of a non-U.S. national to a country other than that individual's country of nationality or last lawful habitual residence, whereas currently this type of removal may only be to a country that has an agreement with the United States for such removal;</li> <li>expands 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; </li> <li>authorizes DHS to suspend the introduction of certain non-U.S. nationals at an international border if DHS determines that the suspension is necessary to achieve operational control of that border;</li> <li>prohibits states from imposing licensing requirements on immigration detention facilities used to detain minors;</li> <li>authorizes immigration officers to permit an unaccompanied alien child to withdraw their application for admission into the United States even if the child is unable to make an independent decision to withdraw the application;</li> <li>imposes additional penalties for overstaying a visa; and</li> <li>requires DHS to create an electronic employment eligibility confirmation system modeled after the E-Verify system and requires all employers to use the system.</li> </ul>

Passage64/100

This bill has already passed one chamber, which is a stronger signal than introduction alone but still leaves another major hurdle ahead.

CredibilityPartial

How solid the drafting looks.

Contention62/100

The main political fault lines are not fully surfaced yet, so coalition durability is still unclear.

02 · What it does

Who stands to gain, and who may push back.

Likely benefits vs burdens0% / 100%
Likely helpedLikely burdened

These are examples from the analysis, not a ranked list of the most-affected groups.

Likely helped
  • No clear beneficiaries surfaced yet.
Likely burdened
  • No clear downsides surfaced yet.
03 · Why people split

Why the argument around this bill splits.

The main political fault lines are not fully surfaced yet, so coalition durability is still unclear.
Progressive

The main political fault lines are not fully surfaced yet, so coalition durability is still unclear.

Unclear
Centrist

The main political fault lines are not fully surfaced yet, so coalition durability is still unclear.

Unclear
Conservative

The main political fault lines are not fully surfaced yet, so coalition durability is still unclear.

Unclear
04 · Can it pass?

The path through Congress.

Introduced

Reached or meaningfully advanced

Committee

Reached or meaningfully advanced

Floor

Still ahead

President

Still ahead

Law

Still ahead

Passage likelihood64/100

This bill has already passed one chamber, which is a stronger signal than introduction alone but still leaves another major hurdle ahead.

Why this could stall
  • The next hurdle is reproducing that support in the other chamber.
05 · Recent votes

Recent votes on the bill.

No vote history yet

The bill has not accumulated any surfaced votes yet.

06 · Go deeper

Go deeper than the headline read.

Included on this page

The main political fault lines are not fully surfaced yet, so coalition durability is still unclear.

This bill has already passed one chamber, which is a stronger signal than introduction alone but still leaves another major hurdle ahead.

Unlocked analysis

Pro readers get the full perspective split, passage barriers, legislative design review, stakeholder impact map, and lens-based policy tradeoff analysis for Secure the Border Act of 2023.

Go beyond the headline summary with full stakeholder mapping, legislative design analysis, passage barriers, and lens-by-lens tradeoff breakdowns.

Perspective breakdownsPassage barriersLegislative design reviewStakeholder impact map
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