The Biden administration’s new border measures, which were expanded earlier this month to slow down illegal border crossings, are facing significant backlash from Republicans. President Biden announced earlier this month that the administration was making a number of moves to reduce illegal crossings at the border, which have soared under his watch — with a record 250,000 in December alone.
Those measures included expanding a humanitarian parole program that had initially been open to Venezuelans to now also include Cubans, Haitians and Nicaraguans — allowing more than 30,000 to fly directly into the U.S. a month if they have a U.S. sponsor and complete a background check, and have not entered illegally.
The expansion of Title 42 and its asylum ineligibility rule immediately drew fury from right-wing activist groups and Republicans who claim the policy is illegal. This week, 20 Republican states filed a lawsuit against the humanitarian parole part of the policy — claiming it was illegal.
That lawsuit, filed by Texas and America First Legal in the Southern District of Texas, and joined by 19 additional states, points to the limits placed on parole by Congress that says the authority is to be used on a “case-by-case basis for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit” — and claims the policy does not meet that standard.
The states say that the program is also unlawful as it did not engage in the notice-and-comment rulemaking required by the Administrative Procedure Act.
This new policy is just another example of the Biden administration’s lack of concern for the rule of law and the safety of American citizens. Instead of working to secure our borders and protect our country from illegal immigration, they are providing a pathway for those who have no right to be here. This is a clear violation of the laws set in place by Congress and must be stopped.
It’s time for the Biden administration to focus on the needs of American citizens and not on pandering to those who have no right to enter our country. The safety and security of our nation must come first. The American people deserve better than this blatant disregard for the law.
