EXCLUSIVE — Stefanik, Langworthy Sponsor Parole Bill Closing Sanctuary Loopholes for Foreign Criminals

House Republican Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY) and Rep. Nick Langworthy (R-NY) are introducing legislation to bar terrorists, transnational criminals, and other high-risk foreign nationals from exploiting immigration parole created under President Joe Biden’s open-border agenda, Breitbart News has learned exclusively.

The bill — titled the Safeguarding America from Extremist Risks (SAFER) at the Border Act — takes on New York Governor Kathy Hochul’s sanctuary state policies giving refuge to dangerous illegal aliens who managed to slip through cracks in the northern and southern borders.

“The Worst Governor in America Kathy Hochul embraced and fully supported Joe Biden’s catastrophic open border policies,” Stefanik said in a statement to Breitbart News. “She has put all New Yorkers at risk by prioritizing illegals first and New Yorkers LAST with her sanctuary state policies.”

“Today, I am announcing I am co-leading the SAFER at the Border Act with Congressman Nick Langworthy to keep dangerous criminal illegals from terrorizing New York and our nation’s streets,” she continued. “The legislation closes loopholes that were exploited by Kathy Hochul’s failed policies and Joe Biden’s reckless abuse of immigration parole. Terrorists, transnational criminals, and dangerous foreign nationals invaded our sovereign nation under the corrupt and failed leadership of Kathy Hochul. We must put law-abiding New Yorkers first and secure our borders.”

Langworthy echoed Stefanik’s concerns and pointed to the recent influx of illegal aliens into his district.

“My constituents are fed up with the flood of murderers, terrorists, and dangerous individuals that poured into our communities across New York State — all because of the reckless, failed open-border policies of the Biden administration,” Langworthy told Breitbart News. “A nation without secure borders is a nation in decline, and it’s time we take bold, decisive action to reverse the chaos of the last four years.”

The SAFER at the Border Act would:

• Block Parole for High-Risk Aliens: Bar immigration parole for known terrorists, transnational criminal organization participants, or individuals flagged in federal threat databases.
• End Refugee Parole Loopholes: Prohibit the use of parole to admit refugees outside the existing U.S. Refugee Admissions Program.
• Protect National Security: Ban entry to the United States for those linked to terrorism, espionage, or foreign criminal syndicates.

New York has become a key site of concern for border-related national security threats and a major hub of foreign criminal activity.

In March 2024, a Hezbollah-trained foreign national, Basel Bassel Ebbadi, was apprehended after illegally crossing the U.S. border and reportedly telling federal agents he intended to build a bomb. He remains in deportation proceedings.

The Swanton Sector — which covers parts of New York’s 21st Congressional District — has also seen a surge in border encounters, including apprehensions of individuals listed on the U.S. terrorist watchlist.

Langworthy previously sponsored the SAFER at the Border Act in August, 2024, which was the House version of the Senate bill introduced by Senator Steve Daines (R-MT) in July, 2024. With the current GOP majorities in Congress and the political headwinds of Trump’s immigration enforcement agenda, the SAFER bill has a much stronger chance of passage this time around.