WASHINGTON—United States Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) joined Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) and 10 of his Republican colleagues demanding Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas immediately release the DHS blueprint for the Biden Administration’s immigration policies. The blueprint details plans to expand and overhaul the legal immigration system and has been released to the New York Times, but not to Congress or the American people.
“It is disturbing that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) would keep this kind of information hidden from Congress and the public, yet share it with the media,” wrote the Senators. “These proposals have the potential to compromise the integrity of our immigration vetting system at the expense of national security and public safety. The fact this is being withheld from Congress and the American people is particularly troubling given the ongoing crisis at the southern border. The policies allegedly proposed in this document would double down on erasing successful policies during the Trump Administration that secured the border and restored the rule of law. We are deeply concerned that these policies will act as a pull factor to continue drawing illegal immigrants to the country – much like the policies already being implemented by the Biden Administration.”
The Senators continued, “In addition, the policies allegedly proposed in this document would open up new ways for immigrants to enter the country legally that extend well beyond the plain text and meaning of the law. While there are many rational suggestions for reform in this document, these are decisions that must be made by Congress, and Congress alone, and not by the stroke of the President’s pen. A decision with such serious public safety consequences should be open and accessible, but instead, DHS has kept this information from everyone except a media ally.”
Full text of the letter can be found here.
Dear Secretary Mayorkas:
We write today to request you immediately release a document titled “DHS Plan to Restore Trust in Our Legal Immigration System.” This document, which was first reported in The New York Times, allegedly contains details of President Biden’s plans to use and abuse executive authority to reshape our immigration system in spite of the text of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). We are troubled by the reporting on this document and are disappointed that, yet again, a media outlet has received a copy of it before Congress and the American people were given access to it.
It is disturbing that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) would keep this kind of information hidden from Congress and the public, yet share it with the media. These proposals have the potential to compromise the integrity of our immigration vetting system at the expense of national security and public safety. The fact this is being withheld from Congress and the American people is particularly troubling given the ongoing crisis at the southern border. The policies allegedly proposed in this document would double down on erasing successful policies during the Trump Administration that secured the border and restored the rule of law. We are deeply concerned that these policies will act as a pull factor to continue drawing illegal immigrants to the country – much like the policies already being implemented by the Biden Administration.
In addition, the policies allegedly proposed in this document would open up new ways for immigrants to enter the country legally that extend well beyond the plain text and meaning of the law. While there are many rational suggestions for reform in this document, these are decisions that must be made by Congress, and Congress alone, and not by the stroke of the President’s pen. A decision with such serious public safety consequences should be open and accessible, but instead, DHS has kept this information from everyone except a media ally.
In order for Congress to exercise its legislative and oversight authority, we request that you immediately release the “D.H.S. Plan to Restore Trust in Our Legal Immigration System” dated May 3, 2021, and any other documents that involve expanding and overhauling the immigration system. These documents should be released by no later than July 15, 2021. Failure to share the 2 documents with Congress by that date will be treated as obstruction of legitimate congressional oversight. We appreciate your prompt attention to this matter.