WASHINGTON, D.C. - Recently, U.S. Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) and his colleagues sent a letter to the Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, voicing concerns about a caravan of over 3,000 illegal immigrants approaching the U.S. and urging the Biden administration to enforce federal immigration laws to address the border crisis on the Southwest border.
“We are writing today with serious concerns about the organized migrant caravan currently on its way from southern Mexico toward the United States,” the members wrote. “It is estimated over 3,000 migrants from Haiti, South America, and Central America will reach our southern border within the coming weeks.”
The members continued, “We are deeply concerned about what the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is doing to prevent a similar situation at our southern border, especially when Customs and Border Protection (CBP) field agents are already overworked, undermanned and under-supplied as a result of the influx of migrants this year.
“Additionally, this caravan comes only weeks after ten thousand migrants flooded Del Rio, Texas, overwhelming border personnel and later gaining entry into the United States. While the strategy DHS released on September 18, 2021, stated that migrants ‘who cannot be expelled under Title 42 and do not have a legal basis to remain will be placed in expedited removal proceedings,’ this did not occur in Del Rio. In fact, Senior Executive Branch officials stated that migrants were released into the United States on a ‘very, very large scale.’ We believe this incentivized the recent caravan to journey to the United States.”
“We must enforce our immigration laws as we do any other laws and ensure migrants in this caravan with nonexistent asylum claims will not be released into the United States. The safety of our American citizens and future migrants depends on your actions,” the members concluded. “Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter, and we look forward to your response.”
Read the full text of the letter here.
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