Border Safety and Security Act of 2023 This bill requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to suspend the entry of any non-U.S. nationals (aliens under federal law) without valid entry documents during any period when DHS cannot detain such an individual or return the individual to a foreign country contiguous to the United States. A state may sue DHS to enforce this requirement. (Under current law, non-U.S. nationals who arrive at the border without entry documents are generally subject to expedited removal. However, if such an individual is found to have a credible fear of persecution, they are typically subject to detention while their asylum claim is being considered.) The bill also authorizes DHS to suspend the entry of non-U.S. nationals without entry documents at the border if DHS determines that such a suspension is necessary to achieve operational control over such a border.
Vaccine Discharge Parity Act This bill ensures that members of the Armed Forces who were granted a general discharge under honorable conditions (on the sole basis that the members failed to obey a lawful order to receive a vaccine for COVID-19) are eligible for Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) educational assistance under the Montgomery GI Bill-Active Duty and Post-9/11 GI Bill programs. The bill also extends certain loan fee rates through March 1, 2031, under the VA's home loan program.
Standardizing Thresholds Of Penalties for Fentanyl Act or the STOP Fentanyl Act This bill reduces the drug quantity thresholds that trigger a mandatory minimum prison term for a defendant who manufactures, distributes, imports, exports, or possesses with intent to distribute fentanyl. The bill also creates enhanced criminal penalties for certain violations involving fentanyl that was imported along the U.S.-Mexico border. Specifically, the bill reduces from 400 to 5 grams the fentanyl quantity and from 100 to 0.05 grams the fentanyl analogue quantity that trigger a mandatory minimum prison term for high-level first-time or repeat offenders. It also reduces from 40 to 0.5 grams the fentanyl quantity and from 10 to 0.005 grams the fentanyl analogue quantity that trigger a mandatory minimum prison term for low-level first-time or repeat offenders. Additionally, the bill creates enhanced mandatory minimum prison terms for importing or exporting fentanyl that was imported along the U.S.-Mexico border.