President Joe Biden is said to be preparing to propose a bold and proactive immigration strategy, following the entry of over 11 million undocumented immigrants into the country during his time in office.
According to a report by NBC News, Democrats are gearing up to implement a bold and assertive immigration strategy in preparation for the upcoming election. In a meeting with key figures such as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, officials from the Biden administration explored various approaches to compel Republicans to oppose votes related to immigration and border security.
According to CBS News, the president is also considering invoking a broad presidential authority to implement a more extensive restriction on asylum before the November election.
The strategy involves suggesting a fresh rule on asylum that aims to prevent asylum seekers from entering the country illegally. This rule would specifically target individuals who are deemed to pose a potential threat to national security or public safety. It’s important to note that this aligns with existing federal laws.
U.S. Rep. Mark Green, R-Tenn., criticized the proposed asylum rule, stating that it seems to be a politically motivated and unserious attempt to address a problem that the Biden administration itself created. Green pointed out that the rule will only apply to illegal aliens considered a national security or public safety threat, and it will not have any impact on the millions of illegitimate asylum claims made by economic migrants. He emphasized that the current inability to properly vet the majority of illegal aliens crossing the border, as evidenced by numerous tragic reports from communities, raises doubts about the effectiveness of vetting under this rule, contrary to what the Biden administration claims.
According to the House committee, the Biden administration witnessed a significant increase in the asylum claim backlog. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services data revealed that as of the second quarter of fiscal 2021, there were 398,928 pending asylum claims and withholding of removal cases. However, by the first quarter of fiscal 2024, this backlog had risen to 1.11 million. It is important to note that the proposed rule, if enacted, would not have any effect on the current backlog.
According to officials from The Center Square, Green argues that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is facing challenges in properly vetting the increasing number of illegal border crossers entering the country. The department lacks the necessary resources and staff to effectively address this issue. Additionally, other governments are not cooperating with DHS by sharing information about their citizens, making it even more challenging to determine if these individuals pose a national security threat or not.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott expressed his criticism of the proposal, stating that President Biden inherited a highly secure border with the lowest levels of illegal immigration in decades. However, with a single stroke of the pen, he proudly ended those effective border policies, which ultimately resulted in the influx of over 11 million illegal immigrants from more than 150 nations, including individuals with known criminal backgrounds such as terrorists, murderers, and rapists. Governor Abbott characterized President Biden’s latest actions as a feeble attempt to salvage his failing presidency, with the hope of concealing the crisis that he himself had created.
According to Abbott, Biden had the opportunity to implement border security measures earlier or maintain the existing policies under Trump’s administration. He believes that the proposed plan will not effectively address the issue of illegal entries and instead avoids enforcing the laws that have already been passed by Congress.
Abbott criticized the president and his administration for consistently opposing Texas’ border security measures, which are referred to as Operation Lone Star.
According to the speaker, President Biden is criticizing Texas for carrying out actions that were mandated by Congress. Texas has taken measures such as constructing a border wall, setting up razor wire and buoy barriers across hundreds of miles, and deploying numerous Texas National Guard soldiers and Department of Public Safety troopers to the border. These efforts have resulted in a significant decrease in illegal immigration into Texas, while other border states continue to experience an increase. The speaker believes that Operation Lone Star, the name given to these actions, is effective, and suggests that President Biden should either adopt a similar approach or step aside.
Since the launch of OLS by Abbott, Texas law enforcement officers have successfully apprehended over 509,000 individuals who have illegally crossed the border. In addition, they have made more than 42,300 criminal arrests, resulting in over 37,500 felony charges.
Under the Biden administration, the number of illegal border crossers apprehended reached unprecedented levels every year. In fiscal 2021, a staggering 1.9 million individuals were apprehended, marking the highest number in U.S. history up to that point. It is important to note that this figure does not include those who managed to evade capture, commonly referred to as “gotaways.”
In fiscal 2022, we witnessed a remarkable achievement as the previous record of over 2.7 million was surpassed. However, this record was once again shattered in fiscal 2023, exceeding an impressive 3.2 million, not including getaways.
According to a report by The Center Square, the first six months of fiscal 2024 witnessed a new record being set with over 1.7 million illegal border crossers. This figure represents the highest number of illegal border crossings during this time period in the history of the United States.
According to a report by The Center Square, a staggering 11 million foreign nationals have allegedly entered the United States illegally since fiscal 2021. This number includes a minimum of two million individuals who managed to evade detection. House Speaker Mike Johnson, a representative from Louisiana, stated that the actual total could be even higher, reaching approximately 16 million.
