Immigration Hawks, Ex-Trump Officials Urge GOP Leaders to Unite Behind ‘Flagship’ Bill to End Border Crisis

A broad coalition of hawkish immigration groups and former Trump-era officials are urging Congressional Republican leaders to unite their members behind a robust “flagship” border security bill for the next Congress – saying the sweeping legislation would end the border crisis and act as an initial step for further immigration reforms.

In a letter, obtained first by Fox News Digital, 16 groups and a dozen former senior Trump officials urge the leaders to unite behind “flagship introductory legislation” in the upcoming Congress next year when they believe Republicans will have taken control of the House and Senate.

“When the 118th Congress opens with new majorities in both chambers, it will be in large part because Americans have rejected the Biden administration’s purposeful dismantling of our nation’s borders and our immigration enforcement infrastructure,” they write.

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The letter calls on leaders to “exclude amnesty of any type,” to create an immediate expulsion authority, clarify that migrants are ineligible for asylum if they came through a safe third country, restrict prosecutorial discretional and reform the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) which has been blamed by many officials for encouraging the surge in unaccompanied children in recent years.

The list of legislative proposals includes the completion of the border wall, the raising of the “credible fear” standard for asylum, increased resources for Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) – specifically for deportation officers and detention beds. They also include a full implementation of the Trump-era “Remain-in-Mexico” policy, to clarify that gang violence and domestic violence are not grounds for asylum, and for states to be allowed to have the authority to participate in immigration enforcement.

Groups on the letter include the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), the Heritage Foundation, Numbers USA, America First Policy Institute, Center for Renewing America, Judicial Watch, and the National Border Patrol Council.

Former officials who have put their name to the letter include former acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf, former acting Deputy Secretary Ken Cuccinelli, former Border Patrol chief Rodney Scott, former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, former acting ICE Director Tom Homan, former acting CBP Commissioner Mark Morgan, former Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought and former Ambassador to Mexico Chris Landau.

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The reforms, now being proposed by a powerful coalition of immigration and border security groups and former officials, represents the strongest and most detailed push to date of a restrictionist answer to the crisis at the border.

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The signers, however, say that the sweeping bill would only be an initial step, and that more legislation would be needed to deal with issues related to legal immigration and interior enforcement.

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