Senate Republicans announced legislation Thursday that would erase President Biden’s new border policy that allows unauthorized migrants to enter the U.S. as long as they first schedule an appointment with Homeland Security.
The lawmakers, led by Texas Sen. John Cornyn, said the administration is stretching the law beyond the breaking point in creating a new immigration avenue.
“The Biden administration’s rule is an unserious attempt at resolving the border crisis and is full of loopholes that the cartels will easily exploit to continue moving unlawful migrants into the United States and overwhelm our Border Patrol,” Mr. Cornyn said.
The policy, which went into effect in early May, was intended to entice illegal immigrants away from trying to jump the border and push them toward a more orderly — albeit still unauthorized — entry. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said his goal was to keep the migrants out of the hands of smugglers and reduce the pressure on the Border Patrol.
It relies on Mr. Mayorkas’s “parole” power, which allows him to grant entry to unauthorized migrants if they face severe humanitarian needs or if their admission would be a significant benefit to the U.S.
The administration argues that preventing overcrowding at the border meets those criteria.
Mr. Mayorkas took a victory lap in testimony to Congress on Wednesday, saying the policy is “achieving results.”
“Our approach of expanding lawful pathways and delivering consequences is working,” he said.
Mr. Cornyn said the Biden administration hasn’t really reduced illegal immigration as much as shifted it to “funnel” the migrants into new avenues of entry in order to hide the scope of the problem. He called it a “shell game.”
The resolution is just one assault on Mr. Mayorkas’s policy.
Earlier this week a federal judge issued a ruling blocking another part of the policy — the “consequences” side — which says those illegal immigrants who do still try to jump the border will have a harder time claiming asylum.
The administration had reasoned that those who pass through other countries en route to the U.S. are not likely to be true asylum-seekers since if their goal was to escape persecution, they would have stopped in one of the countries they traversed.
The judge, though, said Congress set no such restrictions on asylum claims.
The asylum bar was meant to be the “stick” in the administration’s new carrot-and-stick approach to the border.
The Senate Republicans said the “carrot” parts of the plan are also an abuse of Mr. Mayorkas’s powers.
Republicans’ disapproval resolution is still a long shot.
It would have to clear both chambers of Congress and likely also have to survive a presidential veto, which would mean mustering a two-thirds majority in each chamber. Given the close divisions of each chamber, that is unlikely.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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