Third Congressional District Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Washougal has introduced bipartisan legislation to secure the U.S. Southern Border, reimplement a “remain in Mexico” policy for one year and provide defense-only funding to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.
On Thursday, Gluesenkamp Perez, joined by Reps. Jared Golden, D-Mainie, Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pennsylvania, Don Bacon, R-Nebraska, Ed Case, D-Hawaii, Mike Lawler, R-New York, Lori Chavez-DeRemer, R-Oregon, and Jim Costa, D-California, introduced the bipartisan Defending Borders, Defending Democracies Act.
“Our government has an obligation to maintain secure borders and stand up for our allies facing existential threats to their democracies. Instead, we’ve seen months of political grandstanding and shifted goalposts. The American people have had enough, deserve better, and are asking Congress to simply do its job,” Gluesenkamp Perez said in a statement. “The number of migrants arriving at our southern border is creating a growing humanitarian crisis, and failure to assist our ally Ukraine in defending its sovereignty would threaten freedom across our globe. Today, I’m standing with my bipartisan colleagues to put forward a solution that reflects our values, protects democracy, and keeps our communities safe — and I look forward to working across the aisle with the Speaker to bring this bipartisan measure to the House floor.”
According to a summary of the legislation, the bill would provide $66.32 billion in defense-only funding. The funding would include $47.69 billion for Ukraine, $10.40 billion for Israel, $4.91 billion for U.S. and allied deterrence operations in the Indo-Pacific, $2.44 billion for U.S. Central Command and $542 million for U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.
Under the legislation, the Secretary of Homeland Security would be required to “suspend the entry of inadmissible aliens at a U.S. land or maritime border” if deemed necessary for operational control.
Migrants determined to be inadmissible would also be detained and expelled to their nation of origin or residence without hearing or review, with some exceptions for those who claim to feel threatened by torture or persecution.
“Congress must secure our border. This bill would provide expulsion authority, a tool Border Patrol needs to reassert control and do their jobs. Restoring the Remain in Mexico policy would address SCOTUS’s ruling that this authority is discretionary,” Golden said in a statement. “The situation in Ukraine is also deadly serious. Russia has tried to influence our elections and has run disinformation campaigns to divide our nation. At this moment, the enemy of our enemy is our friend.”
