Congress must reconvene to address caravan crisis

By Jennifer G. Hickey | October 25, 2018

With multiple migrant caravans now traveling toward the U.S., FAIR President Dan Stein argued in a forceful statement that the caravan of more than 7,000 migrants represents an “assault on the sovereignty of the United States” that merits the “immediate attention” of Congress.

“Quite frankly, Congress has not done its job,” declared Stein, who urged President Trump to request the House and Senate return from the campaign trail to fulfill their responsibilities as lawmakers.

“Congress is well aware that judicial limits on the amount of time minors may be detained is an engraved invitation for people to arrive at the border with children in tow. Congress can fix these loopholes anytime they are prepared to uphold their constitutional responsibilities, and with a looming crisis at the border it is time to come back to the Capitol and act.”

Underscoring the imperative to take action is the fact that while the initial caravan continue to move through Mexico several additional caravans are preparing to depart from other Central American nations. Unless the loopholes in the nation’s asylum laws are closed and the policy of catch-and-release is ended, they will serve as an incentive for immigrants to take the perilous journey to the United States.

President of NumbersUSA Roy Beck echoed FAIR’s statement saying that the “anarchy we see with the caravan, and increasingly at our southern border, will only grow worse until Congress finally takes responsibility by cleaning up the asylum process and taking away the jobs magnet.”