“We believe that this amounts to a de facto policy of mass amnesty that not only flouts federal immigration law, but may serve as yet another ‘pull factor’ that continues to energize illegal immigration across our borders and fuel the humanitarian and national security crisis that continues to unfold under your watch.”
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Senators JD Vance (R-OH) and John Thune (R-SD) called on Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Attorney General Merrick Garland to pause processing of any new amnesty cases following the Biden administration’s recent action to grant de facto amnesty to hundreds of thousands of individuals whose asylum cases have been summarily closed without a decision. The senators are demanding the administration provide answers about recent reports showing more than 350,000 individuals have had their pending asylum cases terminated without approval or denial since 2022.
“As secretary of homeland security and attorney general, you are responsible for enforcing the nation’s immigration laws and preserving the integrity of lawful immigration pathways, while playing an integral role in protecting America’s national security,” wrote Senators Vance and Thune. “By removing over 350,000 individuals from what should be a thorough asylum process that is seen to completion for each distinct case, you are sending a troubling signal to would-be migrants that the asylum program is so dysfunctional that the mere filing of an asylum claim, legitimate or not, may enable remaining in the country.”
Read the senators’ letter here and below:
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