S. 4361: Border Act of 2024

Border Act of 2024

Also known as the Lankford-Murphy bill, this border-focused bill-

• Increases green cards by 50,000 per year;
• Grants work permits to adult children of H-1B holders;
• Establishes "noncustodial proceedings", which effectively codify catch and release;
• Grants instant work authorization to illegal border crossers who claim asylum;
• Establishes a new authority to turn around migrants at the border-
  • May be used when crossings average 4,000 a day (1.46 million a year);
  • Shall be used crossings average 5,000 a day (1.83 million a year) or 8,500 in a single day;
  • Requires a minimum of 1,400 aliens to be processed per day during the emergency (511,000 a year);
  • Exempted: unaccompanied alien children (UACs), trafficking victims, individuals exempted by the Administration, or asylum seekers;
  • Limited to 270 days in a calendar year, with presidential discretion to suspend the emergency, and an automatic shut-off when crossings are reduced by 75%.
• Grants green cards to Afghans in the U.S. who do not currently qualify;
• Codifies the Biden Administration asylum rule; and
• Adds funds for NGOs to provide services to illegal aliens.

Compared to the House's Secure the Border Act, H.R. 2, this bill allows abuse of humanitarian parole to continue, leaves loopholes in the law that have resulted in surges of unaccompanied alien children, and otherwise fails to force the Administration to secure the border.