A Biden administration exception in immigration rules may allow hundreds of thousands of new migrants to stay in the United States legally, sparking what may be the next major fight over immigration in Washington.
The loophole in federal immigration rules under the Biden White House is causing serious issues at the U.S.-Mexico border. The result is also a sharp contrast from the border security efforts under former President Donald Trump.
The Biden administration announced a January 2023 program for migrants from Haiti, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela to come to the country in humanitarian cases.
This means that if migrants from these countries were in third-party states, such as the Dominican Republic or Mexico, they could receive legal entry to the United States. For those seeking emergency entry due to safety concerns, the ability to be in a safe third-party nation often defeats the purpose of asylum in the first place.
A former acting commissioner of Customs and Border Patrol called the loophole both illegal and a “shell game.”
The Biden White House’s loophole is an attempt to get around a Trump administration rule, regarding Title 42, which is part of a 1944 law that was utilized during the Coronavirus pandemic. Under the statute, migrants coming to the country on humanitarian grounds required a sponsor promising to support them for two years. These migrants are also expelled if they enter the United States without proper authorization.
Under President Biden, we’ve seen record levels of illegal border crossings.
The end of Title 42 will lead to another historic increase.
Texas will continue to take historic action to help stem the surge of illegal immigration created by Biden's open border policies. pic.twitter.com/BOCabaz9u0
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) February 23, 2023
The Biden administration attempted to scrap Title 42 altogether but was blocked by the Supreme Court.
According to United States Citizenship and Immigration Services rules, the Biden administration loophole should disqualify such migrants from receiving asylum.
Current rules state that those who are dual nationals or “holds refugee status” in another country are ineligible, with a partial loophole for those who are a spouse or unmarried child under the age of 21 from the four countries mentioned above. The loophole allows 30,000 migrants to enter the country each and every month.
Many conservatives view the Biden-era exception as a means to neuter the Trump administration’s solution to a serious immigration issue.
