Rep. Cammack Introduces "Justified Action for Securing Our Nation (JASON) Act"

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.

The JASON Act amends Section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to provide the DHS Secretary with the authority to suspend entry and requires the Secretary to submit a written notice prior to the action to leadership of the House, Senate, the House and Senate Judiciary Committees, and the House Homeland Security Committee and Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

"Over the last 21 months, we've experienced a national security, humanitarian, and public health crisis at the southern border. Joe Biden refuses to act on the crisis that he created, Kamala Harris has not visited the border as the so-called 'Border Czar,' and DHS Sec. Mayorkas believes there's no crisis occurring in the first place," said Cammack. "This bill holds the Secretary accountable by providing him with the authority to shut down the border to protect our national security and deliver relief to the hundreds of CBP agents who are doing their best to hold the line in California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas."

"The Biden administration has enabled a surge of illegal immigration at the southern border the likes of which we have never seen before. This has brought dangerous drugs, terrorist threats, and criminal activity into American communities. Now more than ever, we need to suspend entry into the country in order to gain control of our border. Current law already gives the President the power to institute such a restriction, without Congressional approval, for as long as he/she deems necessary. However, we have no confidence this President, given his open-borders agenda, will take such a step. Congresswoman Kat Cammack, meanwhile, has visited the southern border several times and understands the crisis we face," said Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR).

"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. Byron Donalds, Brian Babin, Jim Banks, Ken Buck, Dan Crenshaw, Glenn Grothman, Yvette Herrell, Clay Higgins, Nicole Malliotakis, Beth Van Duyne, and Randy Weber.

The Fox News exclusive on the bill is available here. The full text of the legislation may be found here.

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