A plan by President Joe Biden to deport some Venezuelan illegal aliens after they arrive at the United States-Mexico border will do close to nothing to end the administration’s inflow of illegal aliens to American communities, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) writes in a letter exclusively obtained by Breitbart News.
On Thursday, Biden’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that the agency would “resume direct repatriations of Venezuelan nationals who cross our border unlawfully and do not establish a legal basis to remain,” officials wrote in a release.
The plan, though, is unlikely to make a dent, as Biden’s expansive catch-and-release network is geared toward getting hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans, as well as others, into the U.S. interior through various parole pipelines.
Cotton, in a letter obtained by Breitbart News, is calling Biden out for suggesting that the deportation plan will make any significant impact, considering that the administration is releasing more than 60,000 border crossers and illegal aliens into American communities every month.
“I write regarding reports that your administration has reached an agreement with Venezuela’s government to deport back to Venezuela select numbers of illegal aliens at our southern border,” Cotton writes:
Migrants are rushing to the United States because you invited them, both by refusing to enforce the law and by literal invitation through your abuse of immigration “parole,” and a few repatriation flights will do little to repair the damage, especially while you continue allowing illegal aliens to flood into the country. Further, there is little reason to believe Venezuela agreed to your repatriation flights without getting something in return [emphasis added].
Please answer the following questions as soon as practicable, and make senior administration officials available to brief Congress no later than Friday, October 13:
What are the terms of your repatriation agreement with Venezuela?
What side deals or other agreements involving Venezuela have you made in the past 90 days?
How many Venezuelans enter the United States illegally every month, both across our southern border and through your administration’s “parole” program?
How many illegal aliens will be deported to Venezuela each month under your plan?
One particular avenue Biden is using to get Venezuelan illegal aliens into the U.S. interior, as Breitbart News has detailed, is the CBP One mobile app, which invites foreign nationals in Mexico to schedule appointments at the southern border for release into the country.
From January through August, the migrant mobile app has helped release more than a quarter of a million foreign nationals into American communities — tens of thousands of whom are from Venezuela.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here.