It’s been less than three months into the Biden administration and an immigration crisis appears to be in full swing. Hundreds of migrants, most of them children, are seeking asylum everyday.
This has put a strain on the U.S. immigration system. The race for a solution has led lawmakers to huddle and produce two very different approaches. Republicans have insisted the number one priority is border security.
“We’re getting ready to introduce legislation to make sure we’re using USCIS to check voter rolls here in this country, but we’re trying to make sure that we clamp down on the border,” stated Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas).
The Texas representative along with some of his GOP colleagues are working on new legislation they said will close immigration loopholes. Another bill they plan to reintroduce would designate cartels as terrorist organizations.
There’s also a bipartisan bill that seeks to build more roads along the border to make it easier for Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials to secure the area.
“If you’re going to solve the crisis, you need infrastructure,” Roy stated. “You need a wall, you need the bill that I just introduced with Henry Cuellar, a Democrat my friend.”
However, most Democrats in Congress are pushing amnesty for millions of illegal immigrants and have approved two such bills in the House. One focuses on so-called Dreamers while the other focuses on migrant farm workers.
“This personal to me,” said Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Calif.). “Many of these immigrants, be it Dreamers or farm workers, come to this country to live the American dream…come to ensure that their kids have a better way of life.”
House Democrats argued their legislation will help immigrant communities, but Republicans warned it would only encourage more illegal immigration at a time when federal resources are spread thin and Americans are reeling from the economic impacts of a pandemic.
