FAIR: January Numbers Reveal that Biden’s Border Plan is One Big, Entirely Illegal Shell Game
(February 10, 2023, Washington, D.C.) — The following statement was released by Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) regarding the deceptive January border data released tonight:
“January’s border numbers do not represent a sharp decline in illegal immigration as the Biden Administration is claiming. Rather, the data demonstrates a transparent effort to mask the border crisis through illegal programs that allow inadmissible aliens to enter the United States by other means.
“As the unprecedented numbers of migrants crossing our southern border have become a political liability for the Administration, they have essentially moved tens of thousands of illegal entries a month off-the-books, by allowing them to enter under a massive and clearly unlawful parole scheme. The president’s plan to parole 360,000 people a year into the United States violates both the spirit and the letter of the law, which requires that it be exercised only on a case-by-case basis and in some compelling national interest. In this case, the only compelling interest is the president’s desire to make the crisis seem less severe as he kicks off his reelection bid.
“In addition to the illegal parole program, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has developed an app, which allows migrants to notify U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) of their intent to file an asylum claim – the vast majority of which have no merit – and then be allowed to enter the country pending a hearing on those claims, years in the future.
“Even with these newly devised schemes, the number of migrants encountered at the southern border illegally remained at historically high levels, with 156,274 still being the highest January ever recorded.
“No matter how the White House tries to spin it, what we saw last month was not a significant drop in illegal immigration. Rather, it was illegal immigration dressed up to appear legal under an illegal assertion of executive power by President Biden and his administration.”
Contact: Ron Kovach, 202-328-7004 or [email protected].