Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville has claimed that mass amnesty offers false hope to migrants, in a scathing letter sent to Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas.
He launched an attack on Mayorkas and the Biden-Harris administration over what he called a misuse of immigration laws to permanently change the demographic makeup of the United States.
Immigration policy is a top concern for voters in the run-up to the 2024 presidential election. The growing demand for stricter immigration controls has become bipartisan.
A recent Gallup poll revealed a 15-point increase in Republicans favoring less immigration, an 11-point rise among independents and a 10-point uptick among Democrats compared with last year.
Tommy Tuberville speaks during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on July 30, 2024. He has criticized Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas for what he calls a misuse of immigration laws.
Tom Williams/CQPHO
Tuberville expressed concerns over the growing number of foreign nationals settling in rural areas, arguing that this influx threatens the safety and property of Americans.
He highlighted programs like the Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan and Venezuelan (CHNV) parole program, which he claimed have significantly changed the country’s demographic landscape.
“Throughout your tenure as Secretary of Homeland Security, you have repeatedly abused the statutory authority granted to your office by Congress by selectively manipulating the Immigration and Nationality Act to implement mass amnesty,” Tuberville wrote in the letter, and claimed that Mayorkas had “misused the authority granted by Congress.”
Alejandro Mayorkas speaks before the Homeland Security Subcommittee. He has been accused by Tommy Tuberville of “manipulating the Immigration and Nationality Act to implement mass amnesty.”
LENIN NOLLY/SIPPL Sipa USA
“Under your leadership, this program… has become one that falsely presents itself with a promise of prosperity and support for aliens who are otherwise ineligible for admission to the U.S,” he added.
Newsweek has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for comment.
Mass amnesty often applies to undocumented immigrants or individuals residing in a country illegally, offering them the opportunity to gain legal status or citizenship without facing deportation or legal penalties for their previous unauthorized presence.
Tuberville has repeatedly called out the Biden-Harris administration over what he claims are such policies.
He said in a post on X, formerly Twitter: “Joe Biden signed 94 executive actions in his first 100 days in office, intentionally DESTROYING our borders. We don’t need mass amnesty for the millions of illegals he has allowed in.”
Tuberville’s remarks come after President Biden announced an expansive plan to provide a pathway to citizenship for undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens, describing it as a “common sense fix.”
The Department of Homeland Security announced in August that it was opening the pathway to permanent residency for some husbands and wives who entered the U.S. without admission or parole.
Half a million undocumented immigrant spouses of United States citizens, along with thousands of stepchildren, now have the ability to apply for permanent resident or “green card” status.
Under the new pathway, which began August 19, the children of those noncitizens, also born outside the U.S., may also be eligible.
“Too often, noncitizen spouses of U.S. citizens—many of them mothers and fathers—live with uncertainty due to undue barriers in our immigration system.” Ur M. Jaddou, director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, said in a press release.
“For these people who came without permission and have again no other offenses, there’s nothing else against them; there’s no other reason they can’t get residency. It’s just the fact they came and stayed,” immigration attorney Matt Cameron said in June.
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