The bill significantly alters the landscape of national security reporting and immigration enforcement by creating a systematic approach to track and disclose information about specific aliens who may pose a threat. It aims to provide Congress and the public with regular updates that include a geographic breakdown of encounters, citizenship details, and the immigration status of individuals captured. Such enhanced reporting could also facilitate better oversight of the government's approach to handling individuals identified as national security risks.
Summary
House Bill 7335, titled the 'Transparency in National Security Threats Act', mandates that the Attorney General, in collaboration with the Secretary of Homeland Security, report on encounters with aliens identified in the terrorist screening database. This legislation aims to enhance transparency regarding national security risks posed by covered aliens, defined as those whose information is included in this database. The bill requires regular reporting, with the first report due 30 days post-enactment and subsequent reports due monthly, detailing the encounters, apprehensions, and arrests of these individuals along with their citizenship and detention status.
Contention
While proponents of HB7335 argue that it will contribute to greater accountability and transparency in how the federal government manages potential security threats, critics express concerns about the implications of categorizing individuals based on suspected affiliations without full due process. The assembly of data and its public availability may raise issues regarding privacy rights and could lead to stigmatization of certain groups. Additionally, there are concerns about the effectiveness of the terrorist screening database itself and its use in making immigration and enforcement decisions.
Secure the Border Act of 2023 This bill addresses issues regarding immigration and border security, including by imposing limits to asylum eligibility. For example, the bill requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to resume activities to construct a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border; provides statutory authorization for Operation Stonegarden, which provides grants to law enforcement agencies for certain border security operations; prohibits DHS from processing the entry of non-U.S. nationals (aliens under federal law) arriving between ports of entry; limits asylum eligibility to non-U.S. nationals who arrive in the United States at a port of entry; authorizes the removal of a non-U.S. national to a country other than that individual's country of nationality or last lawful habitual residence, whereas currently this type of removal may only be to a country that has an agreement with the United States for such removal; expands the types of crimes that may make an individual ineligible for asylum, such as a conviction for driving while intoxicated causing another person's serious bodily injury or death; authorizes DHS to suspend the introduction of certain non-U.S. nationals at an international border if DHS determines that the suspension is necessary to achieve operational control of that border; prohibits states from imposing licensing requirements on immigration detention facilities used to detain minors; authorizes immigration officers to permit an unaccompanied alien child to withdraw their application for admission into the United States even if the child is unable to make an independent decision to withdraw the application; imposes additional penalties for overstaying a visa; and requires DHS to create an electronic employment eligibility confirmation system modeled after the E-Verify system and requires all employers to use the system.
Campaign finance: contributions and expenditures; provision related to officeholders raising funds when facing a recall; modify, and require candidate to establish a separate account used for recall purposes. Amends secs. 3, 11, 12, 21, 24 & 52 of 1976 PA 388 (MCL 169.203 et seq.) & adds sec. 21b.
Campaign finance: contributions and expenditures; funds donated to a candidate for recall efforts; require candidate to establish a separate account used for recall purposes. Amends secs. 3, 11, 12, 21, 24 & 52 of 1976 PA 388 (MCL 169.203 et seq.) & adds sec. 21b.
A concurrent resolution recognizing wild rice as sacred and central to the culture and health of Indigenous Peoples in Minnesota and critical to the health and identity of all Minnesota citizens and ecosystems and establishing a commitment to passing legislation to protect wild rice and the freshwater resources upon which it depends.