Rep. Texas Democrat Henry Cuellar pleaded with President Biden Saturday to end the cycle of “catch and release” attracting millions of illegal immigrants to the United States – echoing the complaints of fellow House Republicans.
“You have to have an impact on the border,” the 10-term congressman from the district that includes Laredo, Texas, told Fox News.
“The asylum law, the criteria for letting people in, can be adjusted,” Cuellar said – adding that existing laws could be used to deport those who break entry rules.
“If you have in one year millions of individuals found, and then you let hundreds and hundreds of thousands of them in, that becomes a pull factor,” Cuellar said. “That catch and release … is the pull factor.”
A record 276,000 asylum seekers entered the US from Mexico in December, capping a record-breaking year – and forcing Biden to admit on Friday that “major changes” in immigration policy are necessary.
The current administration’s policy allows almost all immigrants who cross the border illegally to enter the US and stay here for years until the backlogged asylum system can consider their cases.
Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Texas Democrat, called for increased “impact” on illegal immigrants to end the border crisis. FOX News Members of Congress tour areas of the US-Mexico border that have been reinforced with concertina wire this month. AP The Texas National Guard added barriers on the banks of the Rio Grande this week to prevent the influx of migrants near Eagle Pass, Texas. Reuters
Republicans want Biden to stem the massive influx of immigrants by restoring former president Donald Trump’s “Stay in Mexico” policy for asylum seekers, and immediately deporting those who entered the US illegally.
“Why are we letting hundreds of thousands of them in when, at the end of the day, most of them will be turned away?” asked Cuellar, who in 2022 urged Biden to increase deportations of illegal immigrants.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
