H.R. 3731: Strategic and Humane Southern Border Migrant Response Act

116th Congress · introduced 2019-07-11 · Immigration · Latest: Referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2019-07-11 · official record
Who proposed it: Rep. Thompson, Bennie G. [D-MS-2] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Strategic and Humane Southern Border Migrant Response Act

Plain summary

Strategic and Humane Southern Border Migrant Response Act This bill imposes requirements related to the handling of migrants from Northern Triangle countries (El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras) and terminates certain policies requiring asylum seekers to wait in Mexico before applying and while cases are pending. The President shall report on a plan for processing asylum seekers apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shall establish a task force to implement the plan. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) shall maintain family unity to the greatest extent possible, unless there is a legal requirement or safety concern requiring otherwise. DHS shall (1) make every effort to ensure that apprehended individuals have access to bathrooms and showers, water, appropriate nutrition, hygiene, and sanitation (currently, the statute only requires access to food and water); (2) establish uniform medical screening procedures for detained individuals and programs that provide alternatives to detention; (3) increase its capacity to care for families and unaccompanied children by contracting with qualified entities and hiring additional CBP officers; and (4) restore a program that allowed certain minors in Northern Triangle countries to apply for refugee status without traveling to the United States. The Government Accountability Office and DHS Inspector General shall audit and conduct uninspected inspections of detention facilities. Any Member of Congress may inspect such facilities without prior notification The Department of State shall work with the United Nations to increase the capacity of Northern Triangle countries and Mexico to handle and care for those seeking refugee resettlement.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

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If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Strategic and Humane Southern Border Migrant Response Act

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)

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The strongest published arguments

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Thompson, Bennie G. [D-MS-2] · 22 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Ro Khanna (D-CA), Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), Yvette D. Clarke (D-NY), Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-CA), Lauren Underwood (D-IL), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), J. Luis Correa (D-CA), James P. McGovern (D-MA), Dina Titus (D-NV), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Al Green (D-TX), Peter Welch (D-VT), Ed Case (D-HI)

Sponsor's campaign money: Rep. Thompson, Bennie G. [D-MS-2] reported raising $928,245 (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (4)

Appropriation: Money a legislature sets aside by law for a specific purpose. Government agencies may spend public money only as it has been appropriated.
Bill: A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).
Securities: Financial investments that can be bought and sold, such as stocks and bonds.
Statute: A written law passed by a legislature. A statute can be changed by a later law; changing a constitution needs an amendment.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-116hr3731.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/116/hr>

Record fed-us-cong116-hr3731 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong116 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong116