On Sept. 11th, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 3486, called the Stop Illegal Entry Act, which would mandate stiff prison sentences for asylum seekers who actually crossed the border into the U.S., undocumented family members, and others unauthorized to cross the border. The House vote was 226-197, with all Republican members present voting in favor of the bill, joined by 11 Democrats. The bill passed with little coverage by the media.
The bill now goes to the Senate. American Community Media (ACoM) reached out to the U.S. Senators’ offices, but they did not provide a timeline for the Senate to consider the bill.
U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-Texas), a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, opposed H.R. 3486, saying that it “piles on cruel mandatory minimums, explodes prison costs, and treats families seeking safety from violent criminals. We need real immigration reform, not another zero-tolerance failure.”
Backed by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), H.R. 3486 increases the mandatory minimum sentence to 5 years for improper border entry. It also lengthens the maximum time in prison for those who have made repeated entries to 10 years. Individuals with misdemeanors are punished with up to 15 years in prison and/or fines. Those convicted of felonies, or a crime punishable by more than a year of imprisonment, will receive a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years, and potentially face life behind bars, if they are caught crossing the border without authorization.
Supporters of the bill said the changes would deter future unlawful entries and help curb the smuggling of fentanyl and other drugs across the southern border. “Unfettered immigration seriously endangers the safety of all Americans, especially women and children who are most vulnerable to trafficking,” Smith said in a statement.
More than 400 individuals on the federal Terror Watch List were encountered at the border between 2020 and 2024, according to congressional reports cited by supporters of the legislation.
In July, the GOP-led Congress passed H.R. 1, the federal budget bill pushed by President Trump that appropriates $45 billion for immigration detention facilities, as part of an unprecedented $170 billion for Trump’s deportation agenda.
