McCain and Flake to Introduce Bill to Address Crisis at Border

Press Release

U.S. Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Jeff Flake (R-AZ) today announced that they will introduce legislation to address the mounting humanitarian crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border, where tens of thousands of unaccompanied children are being apprehended as they attempt to cross into the United States.

"Today we face a humanitarian crisis along our southern border, and Congress must act to amend our immigration law and provide law enforcement the ability to return these children home as safely and expeditiously as possible," said Senator McCain. "This crisis will continue until the parents who paid thousands of dollars to smuggle their children north to the United States see plane-loads of them landing back at home -- their money wasted."

"The federal government will only stem the flow of unaccompanied minors to the United States when their parents see us sending them right back," said Senator Flake. "This legislation gives the administration the flexibility it has requested so it can begin to do just that."

A summary of the provisions of this legislation is below.

SUMMARY: PROVISIONS OF LEGISLATION TO ADDRESS CRISIS AT THE BORDER

Amend the Trafficking Victims Prevention Act (TVPA) to increase repatriation of undocumented children from non-contiguous countries. Amend the law passed in 2008 to equalize the treatment of unaccompanied alien children entering the United States from non-contiguous countries, including Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, with those entering illegally from Mexico and Canada, to allow for swifter repatriation. As reported by the Los Angeles Times last week, in Fiscal Year 2013, only 1,669 of the 20,805 unaccompanied children from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras apprehended by the Border Patrol were repatriated to their home countries. According to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), so far this year, the United States has repatriated only 890 of the approximately 55,000 unaccompanied minors from Central America who have been apprehended, a number projected to rise to 90,000 by the end of the year.

Allow for expedited removal of all undocumented immigrants that are stopped at the border attempting to enter the United States illegally, allowing law enforcement to return them to their home countries within a matter of hours or days as opposed to the months or years removal currently takes in most cases.

Require mandatory detention or the mandatory use of "alternatives to detention" like ankle monitors to ensure individuals waiting for their court dates actually appear to court.

Increase the number of immigration judges to hear cases and create a separate immigration docket to hear the cases of juveniles. Current backlogs in our immigration courts often result in one- to two-year wait times before cases are heard.

Increase the number of refugee visas by 5,000 for each of El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala. This will encourage people to apply for status in their home country and avoid the long and dangerous journey through Mexico.

Condition foreign aid on countries' efforts to secure their borders and deter smuggling of children to the United States. Require the President to certify that Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador are doing everything they can to prevent the illegal migration of unaccompanied minors or risk losing foreign aid assistance.

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