# 119-hr-116: Stopping Border Surges Act 119-hr-116, Stopping Border Surges Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Biggs, Andy [R-AZ-5] (R-AZ); status introduced (as of 2026-10-31). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-116 - As of: 2026-10-31 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: 119-hr-116 - Congress: 119 - Title: Stopping Border Surges Act - Status: introduced - Introduced: 2025-01-03 - Sponsor: Rep. Biggs, Andy [R-AZ-5] (R-AZ) - Cosponsors: 41 - Policy area: Immigration - Touches household money: no - Last recorded action: 2026-10-31 ## Summary **Tightens asylum eligibility and overhauls rules for unaccompanied children and family detention.** The bill would narrow who can get asylum, shorten filing windows, mandate recordings and checklists for credible-fear and expedited-removal interviews, and expand DHS authority over detention and adjudication. - Children and families: Requires specialized interviews for unaccompanied alien children and provides access to counsel at no expense to the Government. It would impose a 14-day hearing timeline for qualifying cases, require certain placement and caretaker contact information be disclosed, and mandate that specified child information be given to DHS within 90 days of enactment. It also narrows Special Immigrant Juvenile Status eligibility and clarifies that non-UAC minors may be detained only to a parent or legal guardian lawfully present. - Asylum applicants and process: Lowers the asylum filing deadline from 1 year to 6 months. It would anchor credible-fear screenings to asylum eligibility rules, require audio or audiovisual recordings and competent interpreters, and change work-authorization timing from 180 days to 1 year with any issued employment authorization expiring 6 months after issuance. It also allows asylum termination if an asylee returns to their home country subject to a waiver for compelling reasons. - Enforcement, fraud, and adjudication: Expands safe-third-country and internal-relocation bars, requires consideration of investigative work product in credibility determinations, and reallocates some asylum adjudicatory authority between DHS and the Attorney General. It adds a criminal penalty of up to 10 years for knowingly fraudulent asylum statements and creates a discovery-based 10-year statute of limitations for certain immigration fraud offenses. ## Cosponsors (41) - Rep. Onder, Robert F. [R-MO-3] (R-MO), 2026-09-28T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Gill, Brandon [R-TX-26] (R-TX), 2025-03-11T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Boebert, Lauren [R-CO-4] (R-CO), 2025-05-06T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Collins, Mike [R-GA-10] (R-GA), 2025-05-08T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Gosar, Paul A. [R-AZ-9] (R-AZ), 2025-06-20T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Nehls, Troy E. [R-TX-22] (R-TX), 2025-08-19T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Fry, Russell [R-SC-7] (R-SC), 2025-08-19T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Roy, Chip [R-TX-21] (R-TX), 2025-08-22T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Davidson, Warren [R-OH-8] (R-OH), 2025-09-04T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Cline, Ben [R-VA-6] (R-VA), 2025-09-17T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Grothman, Glenn [R-WI-6] (R-WI), 2025-10-10T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Barr, Andy [R-KY-6] (R-KY), 2025-10-10T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Hunt, Wesley [R-TX-38] (R-TX), 2025-10-14T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Cloud, Michael [R-TX-27] (R-TX), 2025-10-17T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Rulli, Michael A. [R-OH-6] (R-OH), 2026-10-29T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Biggs, Sheri [R-SC-3] (R-SC), 2025-10-21T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Donalds, Byron [R-FL-19] (R-FL), 2025-10-24T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Fine, Randy [R-FL-6] (R-FL), 2025-10-24T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Miller, Mary E. [R-IL-15] (R-IL), 2025-12-12T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Jack, Brian [R-GA-3] (R-GA), 2025-12-16T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Mace, Nancy [R-SC-1] (R-SC), 2025-12-17T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Steube, W. Gregory [R-FL-17] (R-FL), 2026-01-20T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Moore, Riley M. [R-WV-2] (R-WV), 2026-01-22T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Pfluger, August [R-TX-11] (R-TX), 2026-02-11T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Self, Keith [R-TX-3] (R-TX), 2026-02-11T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Ogles, Andrew [R-TN-5] (R-TN), 2026-02-20T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. McClintock, Tom [R-CA-5] (R-CA), 2026-03-03T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Babin, Brian [R-TX-36] (R-TX), 2026-03-05T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Perry, Scott [R-PA-10] (R-PA), 2026-03-12T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Van Epps, Matt [R-TN-7] (R-TN), 2026-03-16T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Wagner, Ann [R-MO-2] (R-MO), 2026-04-13T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Norman, Ralph [R-SC-5] (R-SC), 2026-04-27T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Moore, Barry [R-AL-1] (R-AL), 2026-04-27T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Downing, Troy [R-MT-2] (R-MT), 2026-05-12T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. DesJarlais, Scott [R-TN-4] (R-TN), 2026-06-02T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Van Duyne, Beth [R-TX-24] (R-TX), 2026-07-20T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Strong, Dale W. [R-AL-5] (R-AL), 2026-08-03T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. McCormick, Richard [R-GA-7] (R-GA), 2026-08-03T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Wilson, Joe [R-SC-2] (R-SC), 2026-09-16T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. McDowell, Addison P. [R-NC-6] (R-NC), 2026-09-16T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Weber, Randy K. Sr. [R-TX-14] (R-TX), 2026-09-16T00:00:00.000Z ## Provisions PRIA read - Asylum deadline shorter, work permits delayed: cost, medium. If enacted, you would have 6 months from arrival to file for asylum (not 1 year). You would need to wait 1 year after you file to get work permission (not 180 days). Any work permit given would last only 6 months. These timing changes would delay and shorten work authorization for asylum applicants. - Harsher penalties for false asylum claims: cost, medium. If enacted, asylum forms would warn about penalties for false or frivolous claims. If you knowingly file a frivolous asylum case after the warning, you could be permanently ineligible for immigration benefits. You could still seek withholding of removal or protection under the torture convention. K… - Tighter asylum entry and transit rules: cost, medium. If enacted, only people who arrive at a U.S. port of entry could apply for asylum. People who enter elsewhere would generally be barred. DHS or the Attorney General could send some applicants to a country they passed through. You could avoid that only if you were denied protection in each transit c… - Asylum could end if you return: cost, low. If enacted, your asylum status could end if you return to the country you fled, unless conditions there changed. DHS could waive this for a compelling reason. You could ask for a waiver before you leave or after you return. - Fewer kids qualify for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status: cost, low. If enacted, fewer children could get Special Immigrant Juvenile Status. A child would be ineligible if reunification with any one parent or legal guardian is not legally barred under state law for abuse, neglect, abandonment, or similar reasons. - Longer time to charge immigration fraud: cost, low. If enacted, prosecutors could bring certain immigration fraud cases up to 10 years after the fraud is discovered. This would extend the time window for charges under the listed immigration fraud statute. - Procedural shifts in asylum decision-making: cost, low. If enacted, some asylum decisions would shift to DHS instead of only the Attorney General. A specific jurisdiction rule in the asylum statute would be removed. These changes would affect where and how some cases are handled. - New detention and placement rules for families: mixed, medium. If enacted, DHS would have 30 days to move some unaccompanied children to HHS. Children who do not meet the statutory criteria would get a hearing within 14 days. DHS could detain families together when a parent is charged only with improper entry, and minors who are not unaccompanied could be rele… - Recorded and stricter credible fear interviews: mixed, low. If enacted, DHS would standardize and record expedited removal and credible fear interviews. Officers would use updated checklists and provide concise reasons for decisions. Interpreters would need to be competent and not tied to the applicant’s home-country government. Children would be interviewe… ## Related bills - 119-hr-7651: Chloe Cole Act of 2026 - 119-hr-404: Hearing Protection Act - 119-hr-425: Repealing Big Brother Overreach Act - 119-hr-569: Birthright Citizenship Act of 2025 - 119-hr-38: Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2025 - 119-hr-987: Fair Access to Banking Act ## Sources - [119-hr-116 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/116) ## Related - [119-hr-7651: Chloe Cole Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7651) - [119-hr-404: Hearing Protection Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-404) - [119-hr-425: Repealing Big Brother Overreach Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-425) - [119-hr-569: Birthright Citizenship Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-569) - [119-hr-38: Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-38) - [119-hr-987: Fair Access to Banking Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-987) - [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-116 (as of 2026-10-31).