Conservative lawmakers propose budget that would defund 'sanctuary' cities, end chain migration

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Former acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf testified at a border hearing on if the White House is following the law at the southern border.

FIRST ON FOX: A new budget plan by the conservative Republican Study Committee is eyeing a number of sweeping changes to U.S. border and immigration policy, backing bills that would defund sanctuary cities, end chain migration, and tackle the ongoing crisis at the southern border.

The budget plan is being rolled out Wednesday afternoon by the conservative Republican group and calls for deep cuts in government spending to the tune of $16.3 trillion over 10 years and a tax reduction of $5.1 trillion — but also pushes for significant changes in response to the ongoing crisis at the southern border.

The group said that it is embracing four key principles: to protect the American people from national security threats; prioritize and raise economic opportunities for American workers and lawful immigration; respect the rule of law; and aim to assimilate legal immigrants.

"Far from anyone’s ideal, President Biden, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, and Congressional Democrats have embraced the opposite: an illegal open-borders agenda that has created the worst border crisis in U.S. history," the group said in a statement. "In doing so they have compromised the sovereignty of our nation and blatantly ignored the executive branch’s duty to maintain operational control of the southern border."

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Migrants wait in line adjacent to the border fence under the watch of the Texas National Guard to enter into El Paso, Texas (AP Photo/Andres Leighton, File)

The committee has already called for border security legislation earlier this year, while also endorsing an impeachment effort against Mayorkas and the border security legislation that passed the GOP-controlled House earlier this year.

The budget supports a number of legislative efforts introduced by Republicans in recent years that, if adopted, would radically change both the immigration and border security policies currently in place — not just changing Biden administration policy, but also making more deep-rooted changes to asylum, immigration enforcement and visa systems.

The budget backs bills that would finish the border wall, which was ended when the Biden administration took office, as well as bills to restore the Remain-in-Mexico policy and increase the "credible fear" standard for migrants seeking to claim they cannot be returned to their country due to persecution.

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Multiple Republicans have also proposed bills that would tax remittances out of the U.S. in order to fund border security investments. The RSC supports those bills, including one to impose remittances on the top five nations of origin for illegal immigration.

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The budget also backs a ban of federal funding for sanctuary cities — jurisdictions that bar local law enforcement from cooperating with ICE requests to transfer illegal immigrant criminals into their custody. It also backs bills to sue those jurisdictions for damages and to allow federal authorities to detain illegal immigrants until ICE can process them. It also supports calls by former President Donald Trump and others to end birthright citizenship for the children of those in the country illegally.

On legal immigration, the budget backs moves to end the diversity lottery visa program — which was curtailed under the Trump administration and expanded under the Biden administration — and limit "chain migration" to the spouses and children of citizens and green card holders, rather than extended family members.

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Rep. Kevin Hern, R-Okla., conducts news conference outside of the U.S. Capitol with House Republicans to oppose vaccine mandates on Friday, November 5, 2021. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Other bills include legislation by Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., that would bar settlement payments to illegal immigrants if the case is related to their immigration entry, a Rep. Lance Gooden, R-Texas, bill to bar funding to U.N. agencies that are alleged to promote illegal migration, and a bill by Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, to bar non-citizens from voting in D.C. local elections.

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The sweeping efforts mark part of a broader push by the Republican Party to crack down on illegal immigration while pushing for deeper-rooted reforms targeting the asylum system and regular migration.

A package passed by the House earlier this year would ramp up resources to the border, including Border Patrol agents, as well as change laws related to unaccompanied children and the use of humanitarian parole. Meanwhile, all major 2024 Republican presidential candidates have pledged to restore the Trump-era Remain-in-Mexico policy.

Fox News' Liz Elkind contributed to this report.