GOP senators raise concerns over President Joe Biden's immigration laws, claim it fuels ongoing border crisis
WASHINGTON, DC: A group of Republican senators have expressed their concerns to President Joe Biden regarding his recent decision to allow certain undocumented immigrants, specifically spouses and children of US citizens to remain in the country and work legally.
The GOP lawmakers argue that this move contradicts existing immigration laws and exacerbates the ongoing border crisis, according to The Hill.
GOP lawmakers' letter to President Joe Biden
In a letter dated June 21, the senators wrote to Biden that the latest immigration order “directly contravenes the laws Congress has passed” and “will throw fuel on the fire of the ongoing border crisis.”
They called for the president to rescind the policy, which expands the regularization program known as parole in place.
This program allows foreign nationals who entered the US without authorization to stay for a specific period.
Approximately half a million spouses of US citizens and around 50,000 noncitizen children under the age of 21 could potentially benefit from this program.
Criticism of parole authority under the Biden administration
The letter, penned by Senator James Lankford (R-Okla.) and 15 other Republicans highlighted concerns over the policy's broad application.
“We have previously challenged the legality of your Administration’s parole authority and have sought to reform this authority to ensure that decisions regarding parole are restored to Congress’ original intent – ‘on a case-by-case basis’ to aliens who are not already present in the US,” read the letter.
“Under your administration, the parole authority has been unlawfully used to circumvent screening and vetting, mass parole of illegal aliens after the cartels surge caravans at the border, and to circumvent normal refugee processing,” the lawmakers wrote.
Calling policies regarding the US southern border "reckless", the lawmakers accused Biden of rolling back measures that contributed to the current border chaos.
“This week’s action doubles down on your Administration’s message to the world that the America will not enforce the law at the southern border,” read the letter.
“Border security is national security, and our adversaries will continue to take advantage of the chaos your Administration created by announcing this policy," added the letter.
Donald Trump vows to reverse Joe Biden's immigration policies
Former President Donald Trump has pledged to reverse Biden's immigration policies if reelected, accusing the president of using migrants for political gain.
Accusing Biden of attempting to secure voters for the November election, Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) said, “That’s their game plan. Get as many registered to vote as they can."
“They don’t care about citizens; they don’t care about these people. They’re just looking for voters, and they’re trying [to] do as much as they can before the next election because they’re seeing the writing on the wall," he added.
