Congressional Democrats push back on new Biden immigration policies
Samantha-Jo Roth
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A group of more than 70 Democrats in the House and Senate sent President Joe Biden a letter Thursday urging him to reconsider policies restricting asylum access for migrants crossing the southern border.
The Biden administration announced this month that it would limit asylum claims at the southern border and expand its use of Title 42, a pandemic-era policy initially put in place by the Trump administration that enabled officials to turn away asylum-seekers in the name of public health.
BIDEN ADMINISTRATION CLAIMS NEW BORDER PROGRAM LED TO A 97% DROP IN ILLEGAL MIGRATION
In addition to limiting access to asylum for more migrants, at the same time, the Biden administration created 30,000 slots a month for a sponsor-based humanitarian parole program for migrants from Haiti, Nicaragua, Cuba, and Venezuela.
“We recognize that the United States is experiencing a difficult migration challenge at the southern border. But as elected officials, we are duty-bound to propose legal solutions, one that protects asylum-seekers while also securing the safe removal of migrants who have no legal claim to stay in the United States,” said Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) at a press conference Thursday, standing alongside a handful of House and Senate lawmakers.
The letter, signed by Menendez, Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), and 74 others, called the new policies, which deny people from Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Haiti the chance to apply for asylum if they cross the Mexican border without authorization between official ports of entry, “disappointing.”
“This is what makes us different, is that we are willing to hold the administration accountable for the rights of immigrants and immigrant families, regardless of party or allegiance,” Ocasio-Cortez said during the press conference.
Democratic leaders in both chambers did not sign on to the letter, exposing a difference of opinion within the party when it comes to dealing with immigration. House Republicans, who currently hold the chamber’s majority, also are divided on how to address record migration levels at the southern border.
“This is something that we’ve had an active conversation with Democratic leadership — I also want to add that this goes beyond just congressional leadership. We have governors in states across the country,” Ocasio-Cortez said in response to a question about why Democratic leaders did not sign on to the letter.
The Biden administration has faced bipartisan criticism over its border policies as it struggles to respond to a record 2.2 million arrests of migrants caught crossing the border illegally in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30. This past month, El Paso declared a state of emergency as an influx of migrants crossing the border overwhelmed authorities there.
The letter from Democrats comes as the Biden administration is taking a victory lap, claiming the new border enforcement measures it recently rolled out have led to a decline in the number of illegal crossings.
The Department of Homeland Security said the number of Cubans, Nicaraguans, Haitians, and Venezuelans who were caught illegally crossing fell 97%, from a seven-day daily average of 3,367 on Dec. 11 to 115 on Jan. 24. DHS said the new policies will likely put the month of January on a trajectory to have significantly fewer illegal crossings overall than December, which had record migration numbers.
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In their letter, the Democratic lawmakers praised the Biden administration’s efforts to create a new legal pathway but said those efforts should not come at the expense of access to asylum.
“We are seeing political persecution, religious violence all across our planet, driving a migration crisis,” said Booker. “That calls for us as Americans to be a light and a beacon for how to address these global challenges.”