I urge you to support and pass H.R. 116, the Stopping Border Surges Act. Under the prior administration, our asylum system was deliberately weaponized to manufacture what can only be described as a quiet amnesty. The vast majority of border crossers were released into the interior by design, their cases were funneled into an immigration court system buried under its own backlog, and then roughly one million of those cases were intentionally dismissed, terminated, or administratively closed without ever being resolved on the merits. None of that required a vote of Congress, and none of it can be stopped permanently without one.

H.R. 116 would close the loopholes that made this abuse possible. The bill strengthens the credible fear standard, restricts asylum claims to legitimate ports of entry, extends the work permit waiting period to a full year so the asylum process is no longer a de facto work visa, allows unaccompanied minors from noncontiguous countries to be returned home safely, and makes asylum fraud a felony. These are the statutory reforms that turn today’s border security progress into the settled law of the land.

The gains at the border under the current administration are real, but every one of them can be reversed by the next president — and if the asylum system itself is left untouched, the next border crisis is only an election away. Please support and pass H.R. 116 and help build an immigration system that works for the American people, not for those who game it.

Greg Raven, Apple Valley, CA

Sent to:
Jay Obernolte