House Passes GOP Border Security Bill Amid Covid Restrictions Lift.

The House passed a GOP-backed bill to address immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border on the same day Covid restrictions at the border are set to be lifted. The legislation, known as the Secure the Border Act of 2023, would mandate that Customs and Border Protection hire and train 22,000 more Border Patrol agents and develop a plan to upgrade existing technology to make sure agents are well equipped. It also would require the homeland security secretary to resume construction of the border wall, a centerpiece of former President Donald Trump’s administration. The bill is unlikely to become law as Democrats, who oppose the bill, hold a slim majority in the Senate and the White House issued a veto threat against the measure this week.