,,ii #aagth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #cjjb ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,october #ai1 #bjba,mr4 ,cruz introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on the ,judiciary ,a ,,bill ,to address the surge in illegal border crossings along the southwest border by establishing new ports of entry for processing migrants in accordance with the ,immigration and ,nationality ,act and section #cfb of the ,public ,health ,service ,act4 #a4 ,short titles ,this ,act may be cited as the ,stop the ,surge of ,unsafe ,rio ,grande ,encampments ,act of #bjba or the ,stop the ,,surge ,act of #bjba4 #b4 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,the southwest border of the ,united ,states1 particularly near the ,rio ,grande ,valley1 has been inundated by illegal aliens and foreign migrants in response to lenient immigration and border policies and practices4 7#b7 ,during the first #d months of fiscal year #bjba1 ,u4,s4 ,customs and ,border ,protection recorded between #ga1idf and #gh1dad monthly encounters with migrants along the southwest border4 ,during the first #g full months of the ,biden administration1 such encounters increased to an average of #agg1hhc per month1 resulting in a total of #a1eda1fea such encounters during the first #aa months of fiscal year #bjba4 7#c7 ,u4,s4 ,customs and ,border ,protection encounters have increased during fiscal year #bjba in each southwest ,border ,patrol ,sector compared to fiscal year #bjbj1 particularly in the sectors along the ,rio ,grande ,river1 where1 as of ,august #bjba1 there had been an increase of-- 7,a7 #ace4h percent in the ,laredo ,sector2 7,b7 #bgh4g percent in the ,el ,paso ,sector2 7,c7 #chj4c percent in the ,big ,bend ,sector2 7,d7 #ecb4f percent increase in the ,del ,rio ,sector2 and 7,e7 #edb4d percent increase in the ,rio ,grande ,valley ,sector4 7#d7 ,the number of encounters at the southwest border between ,u4,s4 ,customs and ,border ,protection agents and migrants comprised the vast majority of total ,u4,s4 ,customs and ,border ,protection encounters nationwide during fiscal year #bjba4 7#e7 ,during ,september #bjba1 an estimated #cj1jjj migrants crossed through the port of entry at the ,city of ,del ,rio1 ,texas1 which is almost as numerous as the city's population4 ,all of these migrants had to be processed in accordance with the ,immigration and ,nationality ,act 7#h ,u4,s4,c4 #aaja et seq47 and section #cfb of the ,public ,health ,service ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #bfe74 ,as many as #ae1jjj migrants gathered and waited to be processed at the ,del ,rio port of entry in mid-,september1 leading to inhumane conditions for the migrants temporarily housed under an underpass in makeshift shelters1 and serious fears and uncertainty for the local residents4 7#f7 ,several ,federal officials have acknowledged that officials at the ,department of ,homeland ,security's ,office of ,intelligence and ,analysis1 ,u4,s4 ,customs and ,border ,protection1 and ,u4,s4 ,immigration and ,customs ,enforcement were aware of the potential surge of migrants from ,haiti several months before the surge occurred1 but failed to stop the impending crisis4 ,instead of increasing deportations to discourage a surge of illegal immigration1 these agencies halted all deportation flights to ,haiti in the weeks leading up to the ,september crisis in ,del ,rio1 ,texas4 7#g7 ,although immigration policy is directed by the ,federal ,government1 the immediate effects of such large numbers of encounters are primarily felt by the ,states and local communities along the southwest border4 ,these ,states and local communities bear direct and indirect costs1 and are most impacted by the volume of individual encounters at the border4 ,state and local governments bear substantial costs to alleviate concerns for citizens and migrants as a result of inadequate ,federal enforcement of existing immigration laws and border enforcement policies4 ,these costs include health care1 schooling1 housing1 and public safety expenses related to the resettlement of new arrivals4 7#h7 ,the ,governor of ,texas originally declared a disaster in #cd ,texas counties based on the increase in illegal immigration at the southwest border and has since expanded the disaster declaration to a total of #dg ,texas counties1 including ,brewster1 ,brooks1 ,crockett1 ,culberson1 ,de,witt1 ,dimmit1 ,edwards1 ,frio1 ,goliad1 ,gonzales1 ,hudspeth1 ,jeff ,davis1 ,jim ,hogg1 ,kimble1 ,kinney1 ,la ,salle1 ,lavaca1 ,live ,oak1 ,maverick1 ,mc,mullen1 ,midland1 ,pecos1 ,presidio1 ,real1 ,terrell1 ,uvalde1 ,val ,verde1 ,zapata1 ,colorado1 ,crane1 ,galveston1 ,kenedy1 ,mason1 ,medina1 ,throckmorton1 ,bee1 ,jackson1 ,schleicher1 ,sutton1 ,webb1 ,zavala1 ,menard1 ,wharton1 ,mc,culloch1 ,refugio1 ,victoria1 and ,wilbarger counties4 ,the governor has deployed thousands of ,national ,guard and ,department of ,public ,safety troopers to the border over the past months in order to enforce existing ,federal immigration laws4 ,however1 significant numbers of additional foreign migrants are still heading to the southwest border4 7#i7 ,the sheer volume of migrant crossings has overwhelmed the capacity of ,border ,patrol sectors along the southwest border4 ,many ,u4,s4 ,border ,patrol agents have been pulled from their duties patrolling the border to help process people in custody in the southwest ,border ,patrol sectors1 leaving parts of the border insufficiently guarded4 #c4 ,statement of policy 7a7 ,in general ,it shall be the policy of the ,united ,states for the ,secretary of ,homeland ,security1 the ,commissioner of ,u4,s4 ,customs and ,border ,protection1 the ,director of ,u4,s4 ,citizenship and ,immigration ,services1 the ,director of ,u4,s4 ,immigration and ,customs ,enforcement1 and any other ,federal agencies or military officials involved in the processing of illegal aliens and foreign migrants seeking entry or any form of legal status in the ,united ,states to adhere to the procedures described in subsection 7b7 when processing migrants in covered ,border ,patrol sectors along the southwest border4 7b7 ,procedures 7#a7 ,relocation to new ports of entry ,any official of the ,department of ,homeland ,security1 upon encountering any alien who has illegally entered the ,united ,states in a covered ,border ,patrol sector1 shall immediately relocate such alien to any of the new ports of entry established pursuant to section #d and designated for immigrant processing pursuant to section #e4 ,any such encounter within the geographic boundaries of a covered ,border ,patrol sector is subject to the transfer policies1 timing1 and geographic limitations established under this ,act4 7#b7 ,limitations 7,a7 ,processing location ,no official of the ,department of ,homeland ,security may exercise discretion to process aliens encountered in a covered ,border ,patrol sector under the ,immigration and ,nationality ,act 7#h ,u4,s4,c4 #aaja et seq47 or section #cfb of the ,public ,health ,service ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #bfe7 at any location other than the new ports of entry established pursuant to section #d and designated for immigrant processing pursuant to section #e4 7,b7 ,condition for granting temporary legal status ,no official of the ,department of ,homeland ,security may issue a ,notice to ,appear1 issue a ,notice to ,report1 grant parole1 defer action1 grant asylum1 or grant any other legal authorization to remain in the ,united ,states to any alien described in paragraph 7#a7 until such alien has been transferred from the covered ,border ,patrol sector in which the alien was first encountered to one of the newly created ports of entry4 7c7 ,covered ,border ,patrol sectors ,in this ,act1 the term covered ,border ,patrol sector means-- 7#a7 the ,big ,bend ,sector2 7#b7 the ,del ,rio ,sector2 7#c7 the ,el ,paso ,sector2 7#d7 the ,laredo ,sector2 and 7#e7 the ,rio ,grande ,sector4 7d7 ,rules of construction ,nothing in this ,act may be construed-- 7#a7 to prohibit any ,federal agency from facilitating and conducting deportations or removals in accordance with the ,immigration and ,nationality ,act 7#h ,u4,s4,c4 #aaja et seq47 or section #cfb of the ,public ,health ,service ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #bfe72 or 7#b7 to authorize the release or parole of any alien that is not expressly authorized under the ,immigration and ,nationality ,act 7#h ,u4,s4,c4 #aaja et seq474 #d4 ,establishment of new ports of entry ,the ,secretary of ,homeland ,security shall establish new ports of entry in each of the following locations3 7#a7 ,palo ,alto1 ,california4 7#b7 ,st4 ,helena1 ,california4 7#c7 ,yountville1 ,california4 7#d7 ,greenwich1 ,connecticut4 7#e7 ,rehoboth ,beach1 ,delaware4 7#f7 ,cambridge1 ,massachusetts4 7#g7 ,martha's ,vineyard1 ,massachusetts4 7#h7 ,nantucket1 ,massachusetts4 7#i7 ,block ,island1 ,rhode ,island4 7#aj7 ,governors ,island1 ,new ,york4 7#aa7 ,scarsdale1 ,new ,york4 7#ab7 ,north ,hero1 ,vermont4 #e4 ,transfers for processing migrant status and immigration claims 7a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary of ,homeland ,security1 the ,commissioner of ,u4,s4 ,customs and ,border ,protection1 the ,director of ,u4,s4 ,citizenship and ,immigration ,services1 the ,director of ,u4,s4 ,immigration and ,customs ,enforcement1 and any other ,federal agencies or military officials involved in the processing of illegal aliens and migrants seeking entry or any form of temporary or permanent legal status in the ,united ,states shall immediately transfer aliens encountered in any covered ,border ,patrol sector to a new port of entry established pursuant to section #d1 in accordance with the requirements and directives set forth in subsection 7b74 7b7 ,timing of transfers 7#a7 ,in general ,the transfers described in subsection 7a7 shall-- 7,a7 take place immediately after an alien described in section #c7;b77#a7 is encountered in any covered ,border ,patrol sector2 and 7,b7 be carried out with adequate speed to prevent temporary encampments by migrants or aliens within any covered ,border ,patrol sector4 7#b7 ,prohibition of discretion1 delays1 or deferrals ,no ,federal official may exercise discretion-- 7,a7 to delay or defer the transfer of an alien described in section #c7;b77#a7 from a covered ,border ,patrol sector for any purpose2 or 7,b7 to process an application for entry or any request for temporary or permanent legal status received from such an alien before the completion of the transfer required under subsection 7a74 #f4 ,effective date ,notwithstanding the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the provisions of this ,act shall be deemed to have taken effect on ,september #a1 #bjba4