Sens. John Thune (R-SD) and J.D. Vance (R-OH) are accusing President Joe Biden of carrying out a “de facto policy of mass amnesty” by having the federal government close hundreds of thousands of deportation cases.
Federal data published this week reveals an alarming trend on 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.
As the Biden administration attempts to sell American voters on the idea that it has finally gotten tough on illegal immigration despite nearly three and half years of inaction and nearly 10 million illegal border crossings, it is simultaneously diverting attention away from recent reports that over 350,000 individuals have had their pending asylum cases terminated without either approval or denial since 2022.
This is in addition to the unknown number of cases that were effectively shelved via administrative closure. 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.
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. 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.
Thune and Vance asked for a response from Mayorkas and Garland within 14 days.
The federal data from Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) revealed that those migrants allowed to remain in the U.S. — on Biden’s watch — have jumped to about 77 percent, while only 22 percent of migrants are being ordered deported.
“Effectively, you have allowed hundreds of thousands of migrants to remain in the United States indefinitely — for no other reason than the fact that their immigration case was not heard,” Hawley wrote. “In other words, you have created a mass de facto amnesty program that shields migrants from deportation.”
