Senate Republicans are pressing DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for clarification on what they allege is a covert “mass amnesty” initiative benefiting hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants.
“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.
“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. … 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 seek specific information on the number of terminated deportation cases for individuals who entered illegally between Ports of Entry, strategies to alleviate immigration court backlogs, and whether these cases include migrants with criminal backgrounds.
“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), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Steve Daines (R-MT), John Hoeven (R-ND), Mike Lee (R-UT), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Thom Tillis (R-NC), John Cornyn (R-TX), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Ted Budd (R-NC), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Ron Johnson (R-WI), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Tim Scott (R-SC), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), and Roger Wicker (R-MS) signed onto Cramer’s letter.
Sens. J.D. Vance (R-OH) and John Thune (R-SD), as well as Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), wrote similar letters to Mayorkas regarding the mass dismissal of deportation cases.
