WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Congresswoman Kat Cammack (R-FL-03), a member of the House Homeland Security Committee, introduced the Justified Action for Securing Our Nation (JASON) Act. The bill is named after a Customs and Border Protection agent who inspired the legislation and has dealt with the influx of migrants at the southern border for the last 21 months.
The bill would explicitly provide the Secretary of Homeland Security with the authority to prevent the entry of aliens in the event of a surge in apprehensions at U.S. land borders; a public health emergency in the U.S. due to any outbreak that could qualify as a pandemic; the dissolution or failure of a national government in the western hemisphere; or an imminent foreign terror threat to the security of the U.S.
“Our Border Patrol agents are facing an unprecedented crisis at the southern border with almost 3.6 million encounters and over 900,000 known gotaways since this administration took office. Narco-terrorist cartels have taken advantage of the situation and ramped up their drug and human smuggling efforts. This has to end,” said National Border Patrol Council (NBPC) President Brandon Judd. “I thank Rep. Cammack for working with Border Patrol agents and understanding the situation we face. The JASON Act will give the Secretary of Homeland Security the authority to prevent entry into the country when there are border surges and for other situations concerning national security. This is a brilliant and commonsense tool that will hold the Secretary accountable while giving our agents on the line a much-needed policy to secure the border.”
“We applaud her for introducing legislation to explicitly prescribe conditions when a suspension may be declared and extend this power to the Secretary of Homeland Security, which could help overcome an obstinate President. This would be a step in the right direction for protecting American families and alleviating the burden on our heroic Border Patrol, and we urge swift passage,” Stein added.
The bill’s cosponsors at the time of introduction include Reps. Brian Babin, Jim Banks, Ken Buck, Dan Crenshaw, Byron Donalds, Glenn Grothman, Yvette Herrell, Clay Higgins, Nicole Malliotakis, Beth Van Duyne, and Randy Weber.
