An original resolution expressing the sense of the Senate that the President of the United States possesses legal authority under existing law to take immediate and necessary action to secure the southwest border of the United States.
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This Senate resolution would express the sense of the Senate that the President already possesses legal authority under the Immigration and Nationality Act to take immediate action to secure the southwest border, and would urge the President and the Department of Homeland Security to use that authority to reinstate border enforcement measures such as the Migrant Protection Protocols.
What this bill would do
What it would do
The resolution would affirm that the President has existing statutory authority under the Immigration and Nationality Act — specifically sections 208(a)(2)(A), 212(f), and 235(b)(2)(C) — to secure the southern border and protect national security. It would urge the President and the Secretary of Homeland Security to use those authorities to reinstate or implement border enforcement policies, including immediately removing or returning illegal aliens to Mexico, reinstating the Migrant Protection Protocols ("Remain in Mexico"), ending catch-and-release, detaining inadmissible aliens, using expedited removal, and eliminating taxpayer-funded benefits for illegal aliens.
As a sense-of-the-Senate resolution, it carries no binding legal force and does not itself change existing law, create new programs, appropriate funds, or impose enforceable requirements on any agency or official.
Key provisions
- 1Would affirm that the President holds authority under the Immigration and Nationality Act, including sections 208(a)(2)(A), 212(f), and 235(b)(2)(C), to secure the southern border
- 2Would urge the President and the Secretary of Homeland Security to use all available statutory authority to reinstate or implement border enforcement policies, including Migrant Protection Protocols
- 3Would urge specific enforcement actions: immediately removing or returning aliens to Mexico, ending catch-and-release, detaining inadmissible aliens, using expedited removal, and ending taxpayer-funded benefits for illegal aliens
Who would be affected
The resolution directly addresses the President and the Secretary of Homeland Security. Its policy preferences, if acted upon, would affect migrants and asylum seekers at the southwest border, as well as the agencies — primarily U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Department of Homeland Security — that would implement any resulting border enforcement actions.
Why it matters
Because the resolution is non-binding, it creates no immediate legal obligations. It signals the Senate's political position on presidential border authority and the specific enforcement tools it endorses. Any practical effect would depend entirely on whether the executive branch chooses to act on the policies the resolution urges.
What would change
Agencies directed to act
Legislative status & sources
Latest action
Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 5.
Official CRS summary
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This resolution (1) affirms that the President has statutory authority to secure the southern border of the United States; and (2) urges the President and the Department of Homeland Security to use available statutory authority to promote orderly and lawful entry at the border, deter illegal immigration, and protect national security.
Legislative subjects
Border security and unlawful immigration; Immigration; Presidents and presidential powers, Vice Presidents