House Republicans prepare major border bill after months of infighting

After failing to fulfill their promise of resolving the border crisis, Republicans in control of the House have outlined efforts to move border security legislation forward by introducing a new comprehensive bill. The bill aims to address a range of border-related issues and goes far beyond the series of seven bills suggested in January, which failed to progress.

The House Homeland Security Committee will be introducing the new bill in mid-April, which has been developed based on a framework created by the American Security Task Force. The task force consisted of primarily border lawmakers and agreed on a framework for a bill in July last year. The new bill will follow the proposed framework, which calls for a physical barrier along the 2,000-mile southern border, infrastructure, and technology. It also wants to increase staffing levels at U.S. Customs and Border Protection and to clear the carrizo cane along hundreds of miles of the Rio Grande in Texas. Moreover, it calls for enhancing the use of Trump-era initiatives, such as returning asylum-seekers to Mexico for the duration of their court proceedings, and not releasing families or unaccompanied migrant children from countries other than Mexico and Canada who cross the border illegally.

The GOP struggled to make progress because of the battle for the speaker’s gavel in January, which resulted in eventual Speaker Kevin McCarthy promising to fast-track some dissenters’ border bills. However, the disagreements among Republicans on various border-security measures and bills slowed down the progress.

Despite being a member of the American Security Task Force-aligned bill, Border lawmaker and Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales remained uncertain about supporting the new comprehensive bill. He mentioned working with Chairman Mark Green to ensure the border bill that comes out of the Homeland Security Committee addresses the border crisis caused by President Biden’s failed policies. Green said the committee’s work in resolving the “single most immediate threat” to homeland security was “just getting started.”

A spokesman for House Judiciary Committee Republicans did not respond to a request for comment.