Border security and immigration reform are hanging in the balance while a new “gang” of Senate members is working behind closed doors to devise a solution. Senate Republicans have vowed that there would be no foreign aid package approved unless meaningful border and immigration policy changes were included. The next few weeks will test their resolve.
Even though the House of Representatives has considered, debated and passed the Secure the Border Act (H.R. 2), this Senate gang is secretly working on alternative measures alongside Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, the man who created the problem. Because this gang hasn’t found consensus on actual legislative text, they are now hoping for an agreement on a framework to be revealed any day. But the devil is always in the details, and a mere framework, which would, by necessity, leave the Biden Administration to fill in the blanks, should not be enough for senators to move forward on any foreign aid package.
Experts know that words matter. Even the Senate negotiators have said so multiple times to the press. Immigration law is extraordinarily complex, and two people can interpret the language very differently. One mistake can be enormously damaging years down the road. We are seeing that played out today – congressional intent is completely disregarded and this administration is reinterpreting the statute to do pretty much whatever they want. This is why Congress must stand firm and insist on clear-cut legislative text that stops the mass release of illegal aliens and ends abuse in our system.
Unfortunately, one of the most common ways lawmakers reach a deal is by glossing over the text and simply giving government agencies discretion to fill in the blanks. That may get a deal done, but it will only compound the problem. After all, one of the reasons we got into this mess is because Congress delegated too much authority to the executive branch. Congress could not envision the DHS Secretary working to undermine the mission of securing the homeland. It couldn’t anticipate that Secretary Mayorkas would carry out an open-borders agenda that stands on the philosophy of mass catch-and-release.
Yet, evidence of flagrant abuse is everywhere. While federal statute limits parole to being given only on a temporary, case-by-case basis for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit, Secretary Mayorkas has abused his discretion to parole more than a million people into the country without any guardrails. Similarly, Mayorkas has used his discretion to grant work permits to millions of illegal aliens, encouraging more to make the journey and unlawfully enter the U.S. He used his prosecutorial discretion to turn a blind eye and instruct his officers not to arrest and deport people for their status alone, even though the law is clear that illegal presence in the U.S. is grounds for removal. He used his discretion to not detain illegal aliens – even criminals – and allow them to be released into the country to wreak havoc on our communities.
Congress cannot make the same mistake again. A handshake on a framework is not enough to pass billions of dollars for the President’s supplemental request. A framework alone won’t help. H.R. 2 has gone through the legislative process and been passed by the House and that language should be the starting point for any negotiation. Back-room deals that have not been vetted by other lawmakers and experts are an invitation to mischief that will allow lawmakers to claim they have solved the problem, while doing nothing.
We have had a raging border crisis for three years. Nearly 8 million illegal aliens have crossed our borders, millions more have evaded the Border Patrol, many falsely claiming asylum, and nearly all are being granted work permits and released in to the interior. We need a solution now.
It’s astonishing that the man who created the crisis – and is facing possible impeachment for it – is in the negotiating room to help devise a solution. This is the same Secretary who will not give up his open-borders agenda. He will not stop releasing aliens into our communities. He will not curb asylum abuse or stop paroling people into the country, unless he is forced to. While Republicans have every right to demand the White House to be part of the negotiations, they should insist that someone who actually believes in the rule of law be part of the discussions instead. Mayorkas created this disaster and cannot be trusted to solve it.
Dan Stein is president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR).