Cornyn assails Biden’s border plan
Republicans argue the proposal will only encourage more migrants to come to U.S.
WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. John Cornyn on Monday said he plans to push for Congress to override a key piece of President Joe Biden’s effort to revamp the nation’s asylum system, which the Texas Republican says is an abuse of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s discretion to parole more migrants into the United States.
Biden’s plan— which has been panned by immigrant advocates and restrictionists alike— would establish harsher penalties for migrants who cross the border without first scheduling an appointment at a port of entry to make a claim for asylum, and for those who have not already been denied asylum in another country. It is set to take effect this spring and would replace a public health order knownas Title 42 that was put in place during the COVID pandemic and has been used to immediately expel most migrants crossing the border.
The administration says the new plan will encourage migrants to use “lawful, safe, and orderly pathways” into the United States and will cut out human smuggling networks that exploit migrants for financial gain. It is an expansion of a scheme the administration has in place for migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela that led to a 40-percent drop in border crossings in January, including a 95percent decline in encounters with migrants from those countries crossing the border illegally.
But Republicans, including Cornyn, have argued the plan will only encourage more migrants tocometo the U.S. Cornyn has accused the administration of playing a numbers game, reducing illegal crossings by directing migrants to ports of entry. He said he plans to introduce a resolution to use the Congressio--
nal Review Act, which allows Congress to overturn administrative policies.
“The president’s policies are attracting more and more illegal immigration,” Cornyn said on FoxNews. “We’re going to introduce a Congressional Review Act, which is a way Congress can overrule that administrative rule because I believe it will do nothing but make things worse and not better.”
Cornyn did not offer additional details on the resolution, but his office saidhe planned to introduce it once the proposed rule is finalized, as soon as the end of this month.
The White House accused Cornyn of obstruc
tion.
“Unlike some Republican officials who are playing political games and obstructing real solutions to fix our broken immigration system, President Biden has a plan and is taking action,” said White House regional communications director Dhara Nayyar.
It is unclear whether Cornyn’s effort will garner enough support to pass the Democrat-controlled Senate, though some moderate Democrats have supported efforts to override Biden’s immigration policies, including the administration’s efforts to end Title 42.
Progressives, meanwhile, have become increasingly frustrated with the president, who they say is erecting barriers to asylum tha the campaigned on eradicating. U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat, blasted Biden this weekend over reports that his administration is considering detaining migrant families.
“When the administration opened up a legal pathway to those fleeing, it dramatically saw a reduction in assistance — an example of what you can do in a way that is both good for the border and preserves our nation as a nation that preserves asylum,” Menendez said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
“But if not, if the administration does go down this path, I am afraid the president will become the ‘asylum denier in chief,’” he said.