June 8, 2022

The Honorable John Katko

Chairman
GOP American Security Task Force
House of Representatives

Dear Congressman Katko,

As a Texan for whom securing the United States is of pre-eminent importance, it has been an honor to
serve on the American Security Task Force which you have led. As the task force assembles the House
Republican Conference’s security agenda, I write to submit my recommendations for the “border
security” pillar and urge you to consider these policies for the core of that agenda.

We must – without equivocation – approach the issue of borders and immigration “sequentially” and
first establish full operational control of our borders. This means operational control of the U.S. land
and maritime borders, prevention of visa overstays, prohibition of catch and release policies, and an
end to the loopholes that provide “pull factors” for illegal migration. We cannot let asylum be the
exception that swallows the rule of border security. Critically, Republicans must not advance any
legislation related to the future flow of immigration or adjustment of status for any aliens unlawfully
present in the United States until our borders are fully secure. This is paramount.

As you know, in April, law enforcement encountered a record 234,000 people at our southern border
due primarily to the unconscionable policy decisions of the administration to release some 117,000 of
those very people. These policies pull border patrol agents away from patrol duty to process migrants.
This has caused an estimated 700,000 “gotaways” since President Biden took office, the empowerment
of dangerous cartels, thousands of pounds of fentanyl to pour across our borders to kill thousands of
Americans, and poor vetting that has allowed at least one suspected terrorist to be released. 1
Meanwhile, American ranchers have been devastated and hundreds of migrants are dying and being
placed into deadly human trafficking on our watch.

We must act firmly – and immediately – to reestablish ourselves as a nation of laws with a secure
border in which we export the rule of law rather than importing human trafficking, narcotics, and
lawlessness. The below policies are essential to that purpose:

1) Complete Physical Border Infrastructure

a. Finish the entire border wall
b. Build navigable roads along the entire border
c. Clear the Carrizo cane

1
https://www.foxnews.com/us/border-patrol-released-suspected-terrorist-ice-rearrest-weeks
 2) Fix Border Enforcement Policies
a. Require DHS to turn-away all asylum seekers that cannot be fully detained until a
completed adjudication of their claim, unless placed in program consistent with
Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP)
b. Defund all NGO’s who have encouraged the violation of our border security &
immigration laws
c. Reform asylum policies to meet the purpose of actual credible fear of persecution
d. End “Catch & Release” policies that create “loopholes”
i. Fix the Flores Settlement
ii. Fix the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA)

3) Enforce our Laws in the Interior

a. End the loopholes DHS uses to release illegal migrants into the interior
i. End the abuse of prosecutorial discretion
ii. End the abuse of parole authority
iii. End other alternative pathways to detention
b. Remove all illegal migrants present in the interior, regardless of whether DHS
considers them a "threat," in order to end this incentive to illegal migration
c. Increase enforcement of and penalties for visa-overstays and remove violators of visa
allowances

4) Target Cartels & Criminal Organizations

a. Designate cartels as terrorist or terrorist-equivalent organizations
b. Strengthen penalties for human trafficking and smuggling
c. Strengthen penalties for drug trafficking and smuggling, specifically for fentanyl

Securing our borders should be the main priority of the House GOP along with ending deficit spending.
Border security, 1) requires policies that enforce the law to stop the flow, and 2) requires the
infrastructure necessary to help border agents do their job.

I look forward to continuing to work with you and our colleagues in the American Security Task Force
to make our borders safe and secure.

Sincerely,

Chip Roy
Member of Congress

CC: Ralph Norman, Chair, American Security Task Force, Border Security pillar
Kevin McCarthy, Republican Leader
Steve Scalise, Republican Whip
Elise Stefanik, Republican Chairwoman
Scott Perry, House Freedom Caucus Chairman
Jim Banks, Republican Study Committee Chairman