H.R. 4547, the Build the Fence Act of 2016, would direct the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to complete the required southwest border fencing by December 31, 2017. The bill would also amend the Secure Fence Act of 2006 to direct DHS to achieve operational control over U.S. international land and maritime borders by the same date.
H.R. 4303, the Border Security and Accountability Act of 2015, would prevent Border Patrol officers from patrolling environmentally sensitive areas along the border and require officers to take certain measures when encountering family units and other potentially vulnerable illegal border crossers.
H.R. 4034, the Secure Fence Restoration Act of 2015, would require completion of the border fence under the Secure Fence Act of 2006 by the end of 2017.
H.R.1588, the Transnational Criminal Organization Illicit Spotter Prevention and Elimination Act, would increase border security by punishing spotters and armed smugglers of illegal aliens.
H.R.1412, the Arizona Borderlands Protection and Preservation Act, would allow Border Patrol agents access to federal lands in Arizona, but would also weaken the definition of operational control from 100% situational awareness to only 90%.
H.R. 1153, the Asylum Reform and Border Protection Act of 2015, represents one of the most thorough responses to the surge of unaccompanied alien children (UACs) at the Southwest border. Aside from repealing the requirements that resulted in UACs from contiguous countries receiving differing treatment than those from noncontiguous countries, this bill requires immigration officers to order all illegal entrants removed upon screening, absent an asylum claim. In order to encourage cooperation with return, foreign countries who resist repatriation will face cuts to foreign assistance.
H.R. 300, the SMART Border Act, would require the Department of Homeland Security to gain operational control (100% awareness) along the U.S.-Mexico border, send 10,000 national guard troops to the border, provide grants to local law enforcement that have jurisdiction in border areas, and require implementation of the biometric entry-exit system.
H.R. 229, the Biometric Exit Improvement Act, would give the Department of Homeland Security more time to implement the Congressionally-mandated biometric entry-exit system.
H.R. 43, the Border Security, Cooperation, and Act Now Drug War Prevention Act of 2015, would allow for emergency deployments of U.S. Border Patrol agents, DEA agents, and ATF agents in states that declare an "international border security emergency." Improvements to border security are also proposed, including new equipment, technology, and vehicles for agents, in order to prevent various forms of crime including crossing into the United States at any location other than an authorized port of entry.
H.R.52, the Save America Comprehensive Immigration Act of 2015, would grant amnesty to 11 million illegal alien living in the United States. The legislation would also double the caps in chain migration categories, double the visa lottery, grant amnesty to foreign citizens who currently have Temporary Protected Status, and repeal any bans on funding for sanctuary cities. The legislation does include some improvements to border security.