On Thursday, a day after Arizona Governor Doug Ducey called on the Biden administration to address the border crisis, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema and Sen. John Cornyn introduced the Bipartisan Border Solutions Act.
Representatives Henry Cuellar (D-TX-28) and Tony Gonzales (R-TX-23) introduced companion legislation in the U.S. House.
The Senators say the legislation improves the federal government’s response to the border crisis, reduces the impact on local border communities, ensures migrants are treated fairly and humanely, and improves management and security along the border.
“I’ve seen firsthand how Arizona, and specifically small communities along the border, pay the price for the federal government’s failure to fix our broken immigration system. As Chair of the Border Management Subcommittee, I am proud to introduce bipartisan, bicameral legislation ensuring the federal government takes meaningful steps to support our border communities, secure the border, and treat all migrants and unaccompanied children fairly and humanely,” said Sinema.
“I have seen firsthand that law enforcement at our southern border has been overwhelmed by this historic surge of migrants, and border communities are straining to provide whatever assistance they can,” said Cornyn. “With the Border Patrol estimating that this situation will only get worse, we must address this in a meaningful way that is fair to migrants seeking asylum, takes the pressure off of our border communities, and allows our Border Patrol agents to focus on their primary mission of securing the border.”
The Bipartisan Border Solutions Act directs the administration to create regional processing centers along the border. The Senators argue by consolidating migrant processing, the bill protects Arizona communities from the strain on resources that Arizonans are all too familiar with when migrant crossings spike.
The bill also requires DHS to improve its transportation capabilities and notify local border communities and non-governmental organizations prior to releasing migrants to avoid overburdening small communities while improving the coordination and communication between local governments and the federal government.