Today, Rep. Chris Stewart (R-Utah) voted in favor of the House bill that addresses the southern border immigration crisis.

“This bill does not fix all of our current immigration challenges – but it’s critical to securing our southern border,” Stewart said. “Securing our borders is the first and most important step in reducing the flow of illegal immigrants.”

What this bill does:

• Includes $694 Million to meet immediate border security and humanitarian needs until the end of the fiscal year on September 30, 2014. This funding is fully offset, meaning the money is collected through cuts and rescissions of existing funds.
• Increases National Guard presence on the Southwest border
• Boosts Department of Homeland Security border security and enforcement
• Expedites deportation of illegal immigrants, back to their country of origin.
• Temporarily provides shelters and assistance to unaccompanied children and redirects funds to ensure countries will quickly accept and repatriate those illegal immigrants returning from the U.S.

What this bill does NOT do:

• This bill will not result in more people getting asylum – in fact, it will reduce the number of migrant children granted asylum. Under this bill, unaccompanied children will be eligible for immediate return to their home countries. This is important, as 95% of unaccompanied children who applied for do so after being in the U.S. for more than 100 days.