LaLota Cosponsors Bipartisan Bill to Secure Border and Support Allies

WASHINGTON, D.C. - This week, Rep. Nick LaLota (R-Suffolk County), a member of the Problem Solvers Caucus and the Armed Services and Homeland Security Committees, signed on as a cosponsor of H.R. 7372, the bipartisan Defending Borders, Defending Democracies Act. This bipartisan legislation requires the president, rather than simply granting him more authority, to secure the U.S. southern border and provides defense-only appropriations in support of the fight against Putin and Hamas while bolstering Taiwan’s defense against a Chinese Communist Party invasion.

“Unlike the Schumer-Lankford bill, the bipartisan Defending Borders, Defending Democracies Act requires the President to secure our southern border rather than merely giving him more authority to do so. This important distinction is necessary because there is little to no faith among Members like me that President Biden will now exercise the proper discretion at the border where he has failed to do so in the last three-plus years,” said LaLota.  “Moreover, this bill will provide arms to help defeat Putin and Hamas while simultaneously protecting American interests in the Western Pacific. I’m proud to join members of the Problem Solvers and For Country Caucuses, from both sides of the aisle, in cosponsoring this bill that has the best chance to become law and seriously address the crises our country and the world are facing.”

To read the full text of the legislation, click HERE.

Background:

Since day one, LaLota has offered solutions on how to address the crisis at the Southern Border.  First, he called on the President to issue Executive Orders that would reinstate Remain in Mexico, resume border wall construction, and end mass parole.  In May 2023, LaLota voted in support of H.R. 2, the Secure the Border Act, legislation that would end fraudulent asylum claims, end “catch and release”, resume construction of the border wall, increase resources of Border Patrol, and close loopholes in the immigration process. To date, LaLota has visited the border three times and will do so again in April. 

LaLota has taken every opportunity to support Israel, voting to send vital resources to support Israel in its war with Hamas. In May 2023, LaLota traveled on a bipartisan Congressional Delegation trip to Israel, which reaffirmed his support for Israel and the Abraham Accords. In November 2023, LaLota voted in support of several bills to hold Iran, Hamas, and Hezbollah accountable and provide $14.3 billion in emergency supplemental appropriation funding to support Israel. Last month, LaLota voted to condemn Hamas’ use of rape and sexual violence as weapons of war on and since October 7th.

The bipartisan Defending Borders, Defending Democracies Act would require the suspension of entry of inadmissible aliens to achieve operational control over U.S. borders, require immigration officers to detain and immediately expel inadmissible aliens, and provide $66.32 billion in defense-only funding to combat Russia and Hamas while countering China.

This bipartisan bill requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to suspend the entry of inadmissible aliens at a U.S. land or maritime border if the Secretary determines it is necessary to achieve operational control of the border.

The bill also requires an immigration officer who determines a migrant arriving in the U.S. or along the Southern Border is inadmissible to be detained and expelled to Mexico, or their nation of origin, birth, or residence, without further hearing or review. Exceptions for aliens claiming to be threatened with persecution or torture would not be permissible if:

• The alien has ordered or participated in the persecution of another individual;
• The alien, having been convicted of a particularly serious crime, is a danger to U.S. citizens;
• There is reason to believe the alien committed a serious nonpolitical crime outside the U.S.; or
• There are reasonable grounds to believe the alien is a danger to U.S. national security.

Humane exceptions such as for those with disabilities or acute medical conditions are permissible.

The bill prohibits the use of federal funds to transfer an alien in the custody of the Government from a facility in which they were first detained to another location for a purpose other than adjudicating the alien's status. The legislation implements a “Remain in Mexico” policy by requiring an alien seeking admission, including asylum, and arriving on land from a foreign territory contiguous to the U.S. to be returned to that territory pending proceedings for the adjudication of the alien’s status.

The bill makes available $66.32 billion to the Department of Defense (DoD) for the following purposes:

• $47.69 billion to support the defense of Ukraine, including $13.77 billion for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative;
  • The Office of the Inspector General would be required to account for the use of all equipment provided by DoD;
• $10.40 billion to support the defense of Israel, including $4 billion to procure the Iron Dome and David’s Sling and $1.2 billion to procure the Iron Beam;
• $4.91 billion to support U.S. and allied deterrence operations in the Indo-Pacific;
• $2.44 billion to support operations in U.S. Central Command, including to address combat expenditures related to the recent conflict in the Red Sea; and
• $542 million for U.S. Indo-Pacific Command to address critical, unfunded operations.

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