Senate Republicans are demanding answers from Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas over what they are calling a backdoor “mass amnesty” scheme for hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens.
Federal data published this week reveals an alarming trend on President Joe Biden’s watch, where migrants who have been released into the United States interior are increasingly having their deportation cases closed despite not having secured asylum.
“Thus far during the Biden administration, the proportion [of migrants] allowed to remain in this country has risen to 77 percent, and those ordered removed has been just 22 percent,” researchers at Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) write.
In a letter, Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) is leading 21 Senate Republicans demanding Mayorkas and Attorney General Merrick Garland answer questions over the mass dismissal of deportation cases for migrants, ensuring they remain in the U.S.
“We write to you today regarding recent reports of the Biden administration’s purported “mass amnesty” for illegal aliens … the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) detailed the dismissal of over 350,000 removal cases since 2022 under the guise of prosecutorial discretion,” the Senators write:
According to the report, the administration has dismissed the removal proceedings of hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens who the Biden administration has determined do not possess a criminal record or are not considered a threat to national security. This action allows these individuals to remain in the United States indefinitely without undergoing the proper legal processes required to either grant or deny their asylum claims. Such a practice undermines the integrity of our immigration system, and is an affront to every person pursuing a legal path to the United States. [Emphasis added]
…
This administration’s approach has consistently downplayed the severity of the border crisis, initially denying its existence, then reluctantly acknowledging it, and now attempting to address it through inadequate measures. The repeated failures in border management under your leadership have led to an unprecedented backlog of 3.5 million asylum cases, posing a substantial burden on our immigration system and increasing the risk of criminal activities by illegal aliens. [Emphasis added]
The Senators want details on how many of the dismissed deportation cases involved illegal aliens who crossed between Ports of Entry at the southern border, how the administration plans to reduce the immigration court backlog, and whether the dismissed deportation cases involve migrants with criminal records.
“The American people deserve transparency and accountability regarding the administration’s handling of immigration and border security,” they write. “The current state of affairs at our southern border is unacceptable and demands immediate and effective solutions.”
Sens. Jim Risch (R-ID), Steve Daines (R-MT), Ted Cruz (R-TX), John Hoeven (R-ND), Mike Lee (R-UT), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), John Cornyn (R-TX), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Ted Budd (R-NC), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Ron Johnson (R-WI), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), Tim Scott (R-SC) and Roger Wicker (R-MS) signed onto Cramer’s letter.
Sens. John Thune (R-SD) and J.D. Vance (R-OH), as well as Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), wrote similar letters to Mayorkas regarding the mass dismissal of deportation cases.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here.
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