Rounds, Colleagues Introduce Asylum Abuse Reduction Act

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) joined Sens. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.) to introduce the Asylum Abuse Reduction Act. Companion legislation has been introduced in the House of Representatives.

“Our immigration system is flawed and too many individuals are manipulating our generous asylum laws to illegally enter the U.S.,” said Rounds. “Asylum is meant to provide a safe haven for individuals fleeing persecution. It should be a last resort for those sincerely fearing for their lives – not be used as a free ticket into the United States for those who would simply prefer to live in our country. Our bill would strengthen our asylum laws so those who truly do need to come to us for safety can do so. Our immigration system is in need of long-term reforms to strengthen border security and encourage migrants to pursue legal immigration, which I’ll continue to work toward. In the meantime, our legislation takes a step toward reducing the number of individuals who falsely claim asylum to illegally enter the country.”

This legislation will complement the president’s work to build a wall by addressing immigration loopholes to strengthen the integrity of the asylum process to make sure that it is only used by individuals who are genuinely seeking asylum. The United States experienced a 234 percent increase in asylum applications from 2014 to 2016, generating a serious backlog in our immigration courts.

A one-pager about the bill can be found here and full text can be found here.

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