SAVE Act vote delayed, Senate moving on budget reconciliation

Well, this week was interesting...

Last week, we told you that the House of Representatives would vote on the SAVE Act (H.R. 22) this week. Not only did that not happen, but House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) sent the entire House home on Tuesday after a vote on the rule to bring the SAVE Act to the floor failed.

As a reminder, the SAVE Act, introduced by Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) and Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), would require proof of citizenship when registering to vote and states to establish an audit process to remove noncitizens from their voter rolls. As of April 2024, 30 million noncitizens lived in the United States -- both legally and illegally -- and most can obtain a driver's license and Social Security number, making it easy to complete the federal voter registration form.

On Monday, the House Rules Committee approved a rule to bring the SAVE Act to the floor for a vote. The rule also addressed a few procedural issues, including an effort to allow for proxy voting under certain circumstances. Because of the procedural issues, nine Republicans joined all House Democrats in killing the rule and blocking the SAVE Act from coming to the floor.

The House will be back in session next week, and we hope it will finally pass the SAVE Act.

Meanwhile, the Senate started the process to approve a budget reconciliation resolution on Thursday night. The resolution differs significantly from that passed by the House last month. It authorizes up to $175 billion for immigration enforcement to be included in the final budget reconciliation bill. However, we expect the actual amount for enforcement to be significantly less.

Still, the Immigration Accountability Project has been assured by administration officials that interior enforcement is their top priority. We expect a major increase in ICE detention beds and an investment in personnel. We're confident that the final budget reconciliation bill will reflect the actual needs of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, as well as funding for border wall construction.

Immigration News

Illegal border crossings hit stunning new low in March, down 94% in a year because migrants are ‘scared there are consequences now’
Jennie Taer of the New York Post had an exclusive this week on the latest border apprehension data from March. Official figures cited indicate that the Border Patrol apprehended only 7,181 individuals attempting to cross illegally that month, marking a dramatic decrease of approximately 95-97% compared to March numbers in 2024, 2023, and 2022. This significant reduction follows historically low numbers recorded in February. We’re still waiting for the nationwide encounter data from CBP, but that could still be a week or more out.

Then and Now at the Southern Border
Keeping with the theme of the sudden and dramatic end to the border crisis, Todd Bensman at the Center for Immigration Studies has a report directly from the border contrasting the last few years with the total calm that has now descended on the region. Bensman’s article is well worth the read and includes conversations with individuals in Jaurez, Mexico, across the border from El Paso.

EXCLUSIVE: Number of Unaccompanied Alien Children Arriving at Border Hits Record Low Under Trump
An overlooked but critically important aspect of the massive drop in border crossings is the dramatic drop in unaccompanied alien children (UACs) showing up at the southwest border. The Daily Caller received exclusive data on UACs along the border. Border Patrol encountered only 631 UACs in March, which is a 97% decrease compared to the peak of 18,716 encountered in March 2021 under the Biden administration. The article notes that the monthly average under Biden was over 11,000, but the number has now fallen below 700. You may recall that during the Biden years, there was significant concern about the 31,000 UACs who went missing inside the United States The DHS Office of Inspector General just released a stunning report highlighting the inability of ICE to keep track of UACs once they leave Federal custody. Clearly, the drop in UACs will significantly reduce the number of children who are victimized.

Boston Judge Mark Summerville Should Go Back to Law School
Finally, this week, our friend Hans Von Spakovsky of the Heritage Foundation writes in The Daily Signal about a case in Boston where a Judge held an ICE Officer in contempt for arresting an illegal alien who was charged with lying on a driver’s license application. As the Trump Administration continues to carry out immigration enforcement, we expect to see more cases of States and localities putting up barriers, but this one is particularly egregious. Hans writes that Summerville's decision, along with his request for the District Attorney to investigate the officer for obstruction of justice, ignores the U.S. Constitution's Supremacy Clause and Supreme Court precedent granting federal officers immunity when enforcing federal law. Federal immigration enforcement supersedes state actions, which means it is Judge Summerville, not the ICE officer, who is attempting to obstruct justice by punishing a federal law enforcement officer for performing his duties.

Next Week

The Senate is planning to pass its budget resolution over the weekend, which will move the ball back over to the House. Next week, the House will try to reconcile the Senate budget resolution and, hopefully, bring the SAVE Act back to the floor for a vote.