HYDE-SMITH WANTS CATCH-AND-RELEASE DATA MADE PUBLIC, COSPONSORS BORDER TRANSPARENCY ACT
Legislation Would Require the Biden Administration to Release Data on Unlawful Migrant Release Programs
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) today announced her support for new legislation to lift the veil of secrecy surrounding Biden border policies by forcing the administration to accurately report how it is handling migrants encountered at the border.
Hyde-Smith, who serves on the Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, is an original cosponsor of the Southern Border Transparency Act (S.3187), which was introduced this week by U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas) to ensure the American people have a full accounting of the number of migrants being released into the United States.
“Our wide-open southern border is no secret, but Biden’s Homeland Security Department handling of the millions of illegal immigrants who’ve entered our nation is steeped in secrecy,” Hyde-Smith said. “I support this bill because Americans deserve every ounce of transparency in order to fully understand the scope, costs, and dangers involved with the Biden administration’s unlawful catch-and-release practices.”
“The Biden administration has gone to great lengths to hide record levels of illegal immigration at the southern border, but Americans deserve to know exactly how many migrants are being released into our country,” Cornyn said. “This legislation would shine a bright light on President Biden’s catch-and-release practices and reveal the devastating consequences of this administration’s unlawful actions.”
Only limited public data is available on the total number of people who have been released into the United States under programs established by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) without congressional consent, including whether migrants make asylum claims before being released, what screenings take place, or whether the migrants ever depart the United States.
The Biden administration’s strategy for handling the influx of migrants at the border involved funneling them into so-called “parole” or unlawful release programs, including the Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan, and Venezuelan parole program, an expanded Central American Minors program that now includes adults, and the likely widespread use of parole at Ports of Entry (POEs). These migrants are eligible for work authorization, and there is limited visibility into whether they ultimately depart the United States. Separately, the administration is releasing an unknown number of individuals under the label of “humanitarian release,” although it is unclear who qualifies.
These practices could arise next week during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on Wednesday, Nov. 8, to review President Biden’s request for $14 billion in supplemental funding for “border security.”
S.3187 would require DHS to fully report on how it is handling migrants encountered at the border, including:
- The number of migrants paroled at each POE and in each Border Patrol sector;
- The number of migrants apprehended at each POE and in each Border Patrol sector, and how many were granted voluntary departure, placed into expedited removal, or simply released into the interior;
- The number of petitions for parole received and granted by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services; and
- The total number of migrants paroled into the United States each fiscal year, whether they are granted work authorization, and whether they ultimately depart the United States when their parole expires.
Additional Southern Border Transparency Act cosponsors include Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Todd Young (R-Ind.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-Kan.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), John Kennedy (R-La.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), and Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-La.).
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