AFA of PA ACTION ALERT

February 14, 2019

Issue

Stop the Presses — This Bill Is Not a Good Idea!

Details

The Democrats have finished adding their pet projects and presidential restrictions to the bi-partisan bill that has been introduced to address the border crisis.   Here are some of the problems:

The 1,169 pages was delivered less than 24 hours ago with no real time to read and comprehend the bill before the midnight February 15th deadline to prevent another government shutdown.

  • Permanently makes some large areas of Texas open – not allowing any wall to ever be built there
  • Allow southern border mayors/elected officials of municipalities where walls are to be built to forbid the construction of the wall in their area
  • It only gives President Trump enough money to build 55 miles of non-concrete fencing, not the 200 plus miles of wall border agents say they need.  And this fencing would be limited to the Rio Grande Valley in east Texas, not necessarily targeting the areas most used by illegals crossing the border.
  • $4.4 billion in international disaster assistance – $100 million more than last year 
  • $3.4 billion in refugee assistance – $74 million more than last year
  • Expands the Alternatives to Detention program from 82,000 to 100,000… so instead of housing family units at the border- they get moved into the interior where they almost always stay in the country permanently.
  • expands Catch and Release by reducing the number of border beds from 49,060 to 40,520 to house illegals who have crossed the border
  • gives de facto amnesty to illegal immigrants by forbidding ICE to detain any “sponsor” or “potential sponsor” or “member of a household” of an unaccompanied child migrant
  • Funding can’t be used for any concrete wall or other Trump wall prototypes. Only “existing technologies” for fencing or barriers can be used
  • The Swamp in Washington, DC is happy with the bill – that’s always a bad sign!!

So, why is this bill so weak on dealing with the problem of illegal immigration?  Republicans had Senators Shelby, Capito, Blunt, and Hoeven negotiating for them. The latter three have always been supporters of amnesty, and Hoeven himself was the lead sponsor of the final Senate version of the 2013 Gang of 8 amnesty!   

Money to fund the government thru the end of the fiscal year (September 30th) is also in the bill. Freedom Caucus member Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., has introduced a short-term continuing resolution to keep the government open while giving members of Congress an extra week to read through the deal.

Action Steps
According to the New York Times the bill has already passed in the US Senate by a vote of 83-16 and the US House will vote on it later tonight.  The President has indicated he will sign the bill and then declare a national emergency.  Click here and urge the President NOT to sign the bill with its many restrictions.   The Democrats are already devising ways to stop the President’s efforts.

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