President Joe Biden’s expanded use of his administration’s Catch and Release network, the process that helps free hundreds of thousands of border crossers into the United States every month, is a pretext for “mass amnesty,” experts say.
Last week, Biden’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a plan that blows open the doors to an even more expansive Catch and Release network at the U.S.-Mexico border where 360,000 more border crossers will be able to get into the U.S. interior by applying for humanitarian parole.
From February 2021 to October 2022, Biden’s DHS has released at least 1.4 million border crossers and illegal aliens into American communities — most of which have been given parole to work and stay in the U.S. while awaiting their immigration hearings.
The plan, though, is a pretext for mass amnesty for millions of illegal aliens, Republicans and immigration experts allege.
“Why is Biden taking executive actions to further reward those who have crossed illegally? Why is he responding to record illegal immigration by rewarding it?” Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-TN) wrote in a statement. “Why is Biden taking executive actions to further reward those who have crossed illegally? Why is he responding to record illegal immigration by rewarding it?”
This is a code phrase for mass amnesty for those here illegally, as well as the 5 million who have crossed so far during his Admin, a number which is projected to grow to 15 million new illegal immigrants by the end of his term.
— Senator Bill Hagerty (@SenatorHagerty) January 5, 2023
He’s trying to use this self-inflicted crisis to force Americans to agree to his “comprehensive immigration reform” mass amnesty plan. Why not just secure the border?
— Senator Bill Hagerty (@SenatorHagerty) January 5, 2023
Retired U.S. Border Patrol Chief Rodney Scott, also a senior fellow with the Texas Public Policy Foundation, said in a statement that Biden’s “using parole authority appears to violate the law, in addition to undercutting our legal refugee system.”
Mark Morgan, former U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Chief, blasted Biden’s expansion of Catch and Release at the border calling it “laughable” to assume “mass amnesty” and “expansive use of parole will do anything but pour gasoline on the flames.”
Morgan continued:
In less than 24 months, our nation has been forced to address more than 6 million total encounters and got-aways, while Biden told us he had “more important things” to deal with. With a stroke of a pen, Biden has gutted the network of tools, authorities, and policies we had in place to effectively secure our borders and protect the American people from a vast and complex set of threats facing our nation. He has forsaken his constitutional responsibilities, the rule of law, and the safety and national security of our nation in a transparent bid to secure perceived political benefits. [Emphasis added]
Congress needs to finally, for once, do its job and act to secure our border. That means starting by impeaching Secretary Mayorkas, the chief architect of this crisis. It means meaningful oversight and investigation of Biden, Mayorkas, and the NGOs facilitating this crisis. And, most importantly, it means passing measures that end the crisis, secure the border, and reduce illegal immigration. We’ve already done the hard part for them. The time for complaining is over. It’s time for action. [Emphasis added]
