Tuberville, Colleagues Introduce Resolution to Strike Down Dangerous Biden Border Policy

WASHINGTON – Yesterday, U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) joined Senators John Cornyn (R-TX), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Katie Britt (R-AL), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Ted Budd (R-NC), Steve Daines (R-MT), and Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) in introducing a joint resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act to strike down President Biden’s Circumvention of Lawful Pathways rule, which funnels illegal immigrants into unlawful parole programs that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has established without Congress’ consent. This funneling effect has allowed, and encouraged, more people with weak or non-existent asylum claims to enter the U.S.

“Joe Biden can’t run from his record on the border,” said Senator Tuberville.“He single-handedly caused the worst border crisis in our history, flooding our country with some 5 million illegal border crossings and unprecedented quantities of deadly drugs. His latest rule might score political points, but it’s riddled with loopholes and won’t actually protect our country. I’m proud to join my colleagues today to stand up and stop it.”

The Biden administration’s Circumvention of Lawful Pathways rule went into effect on the same day the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Title 42 public health order expired, on May 11, 2023. This rule funnels illegal immigrants into one of three “lawful” pathways:

1. The administration’s program to grant parole to up to 30,000 Venezuelans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Cubans per month, as well as other parole programs the administration has recently set up or expanded.

2. The administration’s “CBP One” mobile app, through which people can make appointments to enter at land ports of entry, where they may be paroled into the interior and given work permits;

3. Seeking asylum at any place or time after having applied for and denied asylum in a third country.

The first two of these three pathways constitute an unlawful abuse of the DHS Secretary’s parole authority, which, under our immigration law, is only to be used on a true case-by-case basis.

The rule is also full of loopholes. Illegal immigrants and the transnational criminal organizations that take advantage of them will quickly learn to exploit these loopholes and overwhelm our detention facilities as Border Patrol attempts to adjudicate whether illegal immigrants fall into one of the numerous exceptions.

NOTE:

Senator Tuberville is taking action in the United States Senate to secure our open southern border.

Senator Tuberville supports common-sense policies that strengthen our border and national security like building the wall and reinstating the Migrant Protection Protocols, also known as the Remain in Mexico policy. Senator Tuberville has spoken about his concerns on the floor of the U.S. Senate and called on the Biden administration to act.

During his two years in the United States Senate, Senator Tuberville has made multiple visits to the southern border and worked on many legislative initiatives to secure the border, including giving law enforcement the tools needed to keep our communities safe and reforming immigration law to crack down on abuse and discourage illegal immigration.

In March 2023, Senator Tuberville introduced the Border Safety and Security Act to protect Americans by combatting the border crisis created by President Biden’s immigration policies.
- The legislation puts more responsibility on the secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and gives increased authority to state attorneys general in holding DHS accountable if the department fails in its duty to restrict entry and detain illegal immigrants.
Also in March 2023, Senator Tuberville cosponsored the Stopping Border Surges Act to address loopholes in our immigration system that encourage vulnerable immigrant populations to take dangerous, illegal paths of entry into the United States.
- The legislation includes reforms that would reduce unsustainable surges of illegal immigrants, strengthen our asylum process, eliminate the incentive to send children to the border; and dampen the exploitative power of coyotes and cartels.
In 2022, Senator Tuberville introduced, for the second year in a row, the Empowering Law Enforcement Act (ELEA) to help combat the Biden administration’s nullification of U.S. immigration laws.
Also in 2022, Senator Tuberville joined congressional colleagues in introducing a resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to dissolve a Biden administration rule that would illegally upend the process by which the U.S. government grants asylum claims.
- The rule would exacerbate the crisis at the border and encourage fraudulent asylum claims by allowing illegal border crossers who claim asylum to have their asylum application approved by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) officials instead of immigration judges.
- The rule also allows illegal border crossers claiming asylum to live in the U.S. free from detention while their application is pending.
In 2021, Senator Tuberville introduced his first piece of legislation as U.S. Senator, which required DHS to issue notices to appear to every single person paroled or released into the U.S., after media reported on the border becoming so overrun that Customs and Border Protection officers were forced to quickly release illegal immigrants into U.S. communities with no follow up for a date in immigration court.

Additional information about Senator Tuberville’s work to combat the Biden border crisis can be found below.

Senator Tommy Tuberville represents Alabama in the United States Senate and is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans’ Affairs, and HELP Committees.

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