WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Jerry Moran and John Cornyn (R-Texas), along with 36 Senate colleagues asked Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas to address reports that thousands of migrants in Del Rio, Texas, were released into the interior of the U.S. instead of facing removal as the administration had previously pledged.
Last month, Sen. Moran requested similar information from Secretary Mayorkas regarding the processing of migrants at the border and has received no response.
“While we applaud the administration’s original stated intent to expel the majority of migrants under the CDC’s Title 42 order or to expeditiously remove them, we are concerned that DHS did not actually carry out this plan, deployed resources in a manner that weakened border security, and undermined the deterrent effect of any future statements that the Biden administration will enforce our immigration laws at the border,” the senators wrote.
“DHS has openly admitted that the rapid influx of Haitian migrants into the interior was orchestrated by smuggling organizations, which only makes some aspects of the agency’s response more puzzling,” the senators continued. “The administration’s response to the ongoing border crisis only makes it more likely that we will continue to experience surges like the one in Del Rio.”
The letter was signed by Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Senators James Lankford (R-Okla.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), John Thune (R-S.D.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Todd Young (R-Ind.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), John Kennedy (R-La.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio).