LindseyGraham.com
The stage is being set for a return to lawlessness and chaos at
our southern border
John,
It's clear that the crisis at our southern border is not going
away - and the Biden administration has no one to blame but
themselves.
Last night, I was on with Sean Hannity again to discuss the
growing border crisis, which you can watch here:
Watch Now →
It's clear that the worst is yet to come.
Word is spreading through Central America that President Trump's
immigration policies are being replaced by the Biden
administration, so people are heading to America by the
thousands.
John, please take a moment to watch my interview on Hannity
and read my editorial posted on Fox News below about our southern
border crisis.
Sincerely,
Lindsey Graham
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The current situation at our southern border is unnerving.
Despite recent claims by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro
Mayorkas that there is no crisis at our southern border, there is
a major crisis brewing due to the misguided policies of the Biden
administration.
Whether it is the Biden administration's reversal of the Remain
in Mexico policy, upcoming modifications to Title 42 allowing for
expulsions because of COVID concerns, putting the moratorium on
deportations, or stopping construction of the border wall, the
stage is being set for a return to the lawlessness and chaos we
saw at our southern border in 2018 and 2019.
REMAIN IN MEXICO
One of the Biden administration's first actions upon taking
office was to eliminate the Remain in Mexico policy implemented
by President Trump.
In 2018 and 2019, Customs and Border Protection officials were
overwhelmed by asylum seekers from El Salvador, Honduras and
Guatemala, also known as the Northern Triangle countries. These
asylum seekers, and the smugglers who profit off them, learned
they could game the U.S. immigration system. Now, officials at
the border are looking at numbers of asylum seekers larger than
2018, 2019 and 2020 combined.
Instead of trying to enter the United States by stealth, migrants
were emboldened by the ease in which they could simply walk
across the border into the United States and remain here. They
would travel to the U.S.-Mexico border, locate a Customs and
Border Protection official, turn themselves in, and request
asylum.
They would be processed as an asylum applicant and eventually
released into the United States, with employment authorization,
to wait for a court hearing years away. Most of these individuals
claiming asylum at the border never show up for a court hearing,
and 90% do not meet the criteria for asylum.
This led to hundreds of thousands of people paying smugglers
thousands of dollars to come to the United States, often with
children in tow, and claiming asylum at our southern border.
Simply put, it was a huge mess.
The Trump administration, understanding the gravity of the
problem and the opportunity for abuse, made some important
changes in policy. They negotiated with the Mexican government
and required asylum seekers to Remain in Mexico until their court
hearing.
Migrants soon learned they would no longer be processed in the
United States. No migrant wants to pay thousands of dollars to
sit and wait in Mexico on a U.S. asylum hearing that would likely
find they were ineligible for relief, so the flow of migrants
dramatically decreased - a change for the better.
Unfortunately, believing that anything done by President Trump on
immigration must be bad, the Biden administration immediately
rolled back the Remain in Mexico policy. Those waiting in Mexico
are currently being escorted into the United States.
Barely six weeks into the new administration, we already see an
uptick in the number of adults and unaccompanied minors showing
up at our southern border. The Biden administration is allowing
unaccompanied minors to stay in our country rather than sending
them back to their country of origin.
I am very concerned that the Biden administration policy changes
in the way we process asylum applications will lead to caravan
after caravan and the exploitation of these unaccompanied minors.
It is only a matter of time until coyote smugglers and other
human traffickers spread the word throughout Central America that
the Biden administration has returned us to the old, failed way
of doing business.
Title 42 Changes
To stop the spread of COVID-19, President Trump invoked 42 U.S.C.
265, a public health authority that allows the surgeon general to
make a determination to swiftly turn away people seeking entry
into the country due to serious public health concerns. While we
all eagerly await the end of the pandemic, we need to recognize
and prepare for the fact that once Title 42 is rolled back it
will impact immigration.
Although Title 42 has been an invaluable tool, it has also slowed
legal travel and trade from Mexico.
Our ports of entry generate tens of billions of dollars by
collecting customs and duties, and people traveling to the United
States to shop and engage in tourism is valuable to our border
states.
There will come a day when COVID-19 restrictions will be
relieved, and we can return to legal trade and travel.
Unfortunately, Title 42 changes, combined with the cancellation
of the Remain in Mexico policy, will greatly increase pressure on
our border.
Without further policy changes to our broken asylum system, we
will soon be facing new surges on our border and resources, all
during a devastating global pandemic.
Stopping Construction of the Border Wall
There are miles of double-layered walls and fences along the
Nogales, Arizona-Mexico border that have dramatically reduced
illegal crossings. The border wall is a force multiplier helping
our Border Patrol do their job in protecting our country from
drug trafficking and human smuggling.
During a recent trip to the southern border, I was dumbfounded to
find there are holes in the wall because the Biden administration
has issued an order to stop construction on the wall. I visited
one site where the panels were already stacked on the ground and
ready to be put up.
Instead, they are prohibited from completing this task. Now, a
Border Patrol agent has to be permanently stationed in the area
to guard this 100-foot hole in the fence. Not finishing this
small section of the wall is a decision that defies common sense.
Our Customs and Border Protection officials are heroes for the
work they do in securing our border and legal ports of entry.
They should be given the tools they need to do their jobs, but
the Biden administration is making that nearly impossible.
President Trump drew some tough lines in the sand when it came to
dealing with migrants seeking to game the system. And the fact of
the matter is what he did worked. The Biden administration should
acknowledge and accept that fact instead of trying to undo his
policies.
By their words and actions, the Biden administration is
emboldening smugglers and enticing migrants to come. I fear that
we will soon see caravan after caravan again forming in the
Northern Triangle countries and headed toward the United States.
The Biden administration will have no one to blame but themselves
for these reckless immigration policies.
Our southern border, and the Customs and Border Protection agents
who protect us there, will soon be overwhelmed again.
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Lindsey Graham is a fighter who doesn't back down from a
challenge. He's a conservative who gets things done. He's a
leader who puts our country above all!
In the United States Senate, South Carolina's Lindsey Graham has
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leader who gets things done. He is a great friend to our men and
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