On Thursday, New York Representative Tom Suozzi and Pennsylvania Representative Brian Fitzpatrick asked President Biden to take executive action to stop abuses in the asylum system and restore order at the border.
The Democrats and Republicans have come together to ask the White House to take action against gangs that are taking advantage of the US border situation. They are also requesting that legal work permits be given to over 1 million undocumented spouses of US citizens.
“Americans want something to be done.” “We need the president because Congress has failed,” Suozzi said during a press conference on Thursday afternoon.
He said that criminal groups known as ‘coyotes’ are taking advantage of the asylum system from 1980 that was created for people defecting during the Cold War.
The legislator stated that there are 1.1 million undocumented people who are married to US citizens and have been living here for many years. They need work permits so they can pay taxes and no longer live in hiding.
“According to Fitzpatrick, we require an intelligent and reasonable immigration system that helps families and ensures border security,” Fitzpatrick said.
“I am happy to work together with Rep. Suozzi on this letter that both Democrats and Republicans support. The letter asks President Biden to use his power as president to make sensible changes to our immigration system, which is currently not working well.”
The congressmen sent a letter to the president on Thursday morning. They want to make it harder for migrants to be approved for asylum by raising the credible fear requirement. They also want to stop all asylum seekers from entering the country between border ports.
According to a document obtained by The Post, Suozzi and Fitzpatrick wrote, “Currently, many people are misusing the asylum process. They are not actually fleeing persecution, but have been told to answer in a way that meets the low ‘credible fear’ requirement.”
The Refugee Act, which was passed in 1980, provided assistance to people who were escaping from communist and authoritarian regimes.
The lawmakers said that cartel coyotes have been guiding and helping desperate migrants enter the US outside of official entry points.
Migrants who are taught the necessary language skills to apply for asylum are accused of providing false information during credible fear exams. This allows them to enter the U.S. and stay for several years, but they are eventually denied entry by an immigration court judge. This information is based on the 18% asylum grants in fiscal year 2023.
“Suozzi and Fitzpatrick said that you have the power to stop this abuse by restricting asylum to only those who enter through official ports and by making the credible fear standard more stringent.”
Biden may use his power as president to give work permits to spouses of US citizens through a military programme that allows service members to change their spouse or parents’ immigration status.
“They wrote that using this power for spouses who are undocumented but have been contributing for a long time and are married to U.S. citizens would help keep families together and increase the number of workers who pay taxes,” they wrote. Furthermore, these work licences for immigrant spouses are predicted to increase the U.S. GDP by $16 billion.
The Biden administration proposed making other changes to the screening process for asylum-related matters on Thursday, as polls indicate that the president is behind former President Donald Trump in terms of immigration.
House Speaker Mike Johnson criticised the administration’s efforts as “window dressing” during an interview on Fox News on Thursday.
“Window dressing.” Johnson said on “Fox and Friends” that he could use section 212F of the Immigration and Nationality Act to close the border today.
I even read it to President Biden. He knows that he has the authority mentioned in the text. “The House speaker accused him of refusing to accept that it was the law, which is absurd,”
Then he refused to use it. He should reinstate the “Remain in Mexico” policy to prevent people from crossing the border. The border patrol says that it would reduce the flow by 70%.
In February, House Republicans impeached Alejandro Mayorkas, who was the Homeland Security Secretary under President Biden. They accused him of mishandling the large number of migrants entering the US each year, which was at a record-breaking level.
The Senate, which was controlled by the Democrats, did not attempt to try the case.
