House Republicans are re-introducing a bill that would dramatically ramp up the use of an existing, Clinton-era deportation authority to remove illegal immigrants who have recently entered the U.S. -- as the clock counts down to the expiration of the Title 42 authority in May.
The American Safety and Fairness Through Expedited Removal (SAFER) Act, introduced by Rep. Pat Fallon, R-Texas, removes some limits on expedited removal -- an authority from 1996 that allows authorities to expel certain illegal immigrants
The legislation, first introduced in December, abolishes more recent limits that restrict the use of the authority to illegal immigrants who have been encountered within 100 miles of the border and have been in the county for two weeks or fewer. Consequently, DHS could deport any illegal immigrants anywhere in the U.S., as long as they had arrived in the last two years.