Stopping Border Surges Act

Key Points

• The bill would require asylum seekers to arrive at an official port of entry and cuts the filing deadline from one year to six months. It also raises the standard for credible fear interviews, requiring that claims are "more probable than not" to be true.
• People who traveled through other countries to reach the U.S. would generally be barred from asylum unless they already applied for and were denied protection in those transit countries. Exceptions exist for trafficking victims and cases where transit countries lack refugee treaty obligations.
• The government could detain families together during immigration proceedings and would override state licensing requirements for family detention facilities. Children who are not unaccompanied could only be released to a parent or legal guardian lawfully present in the U.S.
• Unaccompanied children from any country, not just those bordering the U.S., could be returned home more quickly. The bill also requires more background checks on the adults who take in these children, including sharing their immigration status with DHS.
• Work permit eligibility for asylum seekers would be delayed from 180 days to one year, and permits would expire after just six months. Asylum fraud could result in up to 10 years in prison.