The Senate border deal fails the ‘America First’ test

This op-ed originally appeared in The Washington Times on February 6, 2024.

Americans deserve a solution to the Biden administration’s border crisis. But the recently unveiled Senate border security package isn’t the answer. Before I explain why the Senate bill fails the America First test, it’s important to note that the administration continues to falsely claim that only Congress can solve this crisis.

Congress didn’t create this crisis in 2021; Biden administration policies did. And it’s the Biden administration that could solve this humanitarian and security crisis if it had the will to do so. Instead, the administration has failed to enforce border and immigration laws year after year. It has refused to bring this crisis to a close. So, Americans are rightfully skeptical that after three long years, the Biden team is now suddenly and willingly going to change course and enforce new laws passed by Congress.

Unlike the House-passed border security bill that Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer refuses to bring up for a vote, the Senate bill fails to end asylum fraud, secure the border, eliminate “catch and release,” or provide enough new enforcement tools for a future administration.

First, the bill creates unnecessarily complex new procedures for dealing with illegal aliens apprehended at the southern border. Instead of closing known loopholes in the law, the bill creates a confusing labyrinth of new processes that are untested and unproven. The bill appears to add layers of appeal to give illegal aliens more opportunities to contest their removal. Instead of streamlining the removal procedure, the bill expands the bureaucracy and will inevitability slow down an already overwhelmed system.

Accordingly, the claim that the bill solves the asylum issue is misleading. Close to 90% of asylum claims made by illegal aliens at the border fail. Raising the asylum standard is a good first step but is ultimately irrelevant, because the endgame for these economic migrants is to be released into American communities...

Read the full op-ed in The Washington Times.