How the Border Bill Would ‘Shut Down’ Illegal Crossings

The Senate released the long-awaited text of a compromise bill on Sunday aimed at curtailing historically high illegal border crossings.

The bill’s central aim is to end widespread use of a practice known as “catch and release,” in which migrants claiming asylum are released into the U.S. with immigration court dates years into the future.

It contains new measures that make it tougher to qualify for asylum, detain or track migrants as they move through the process and limit how many people can make asylum claims a day. In addition, it makes several minor changes to the legal immigration system, including ones to help children of work-visa holders avoid deportation when they become adults.

Here’s an explanation of what the bill would do if enacted.