Friday, Congressman Mo Brooks (R-Huntsville) announced his support for President Donald J. Trump’s (R) Presidential Proclamation addressing mass migration through the southern border of the United States and the Department of Homeland Security’s newly released asylum rule.
“Each year, hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens furtively thumb their noses at America’s sovereignty by clandestinely violating our borders and laws,” Congressman Brooks said. “Now, Central American caravans openly and brazenly seek to do the same. This outrageous conduct cannot be, and should not be, tolerated by America. As a sovereign nation, the American people have every right to expect their government to secure our borders.”
“Illegal immigration hurts American workers and taxpayers,” Brooks continued. “According to the Center for Immigration Studies, illegal aliens are a net $116 billion annual cost to American taxpayers. That’s $300 in additional taxes each man, woman and child in America is forced to pay for people whose first act on American soil is to violate American law.”
“Fraud and abuse plague America’s asylum system. Let me make this clear: no one has a right to demand asylum from any nation,” Brooks concluded. “Asylum and sanctuary is a discretionary benefit given by nations to those with clear justification. Too often, illegal aliens are coached by attorneys to say ‘magic words’ that help them take advantage of America’s generosity. Their exploitation of America’s already generous immigration laws must stop! As such, I support President Trump’s steps to close asylum loopholes and stop the damage to America caused by illegal aliens’ wrongful conduct.”
Mo Brooks office shared some information about the border:
So far in FY18, 500,000 people apprehended attempting to cross the border, about 100,000 at checkpoints and 400,000 in the interior. According to the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice, “[i]n recent weeks, United States officials have each day encountered an average of approximately 2,000 inadmissible aliens at the southern border.”
According to data provided by the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice, “[o]ver the past decade, the overall percentage of aliens subject to expedited removal and referred, as part of the initial screening process, for a credible-fear interview jumped from approximately 5% to above 40%, and the total number of credible-fear referrals for interviews increased from about 5,000 a year in Fiscal Year (“FY”) 2008 to about 97,000 in FY 2018.”
Last year, nearly half of the completed cases that involved aliens who claimed credible fear resulted in the alien failing to show up at a hearing or even to file an application for asylum.
“Illegal aliens will no longer get a free pass into our country by lodging meritless claims in seeking asylum,” President Trump said. “Instead, migrants seeking asylum will have to present themselves lawfully at a port of entry.”
President Trump’s proclamation declared that migrants seeking asylum along the southern border must present themselves lawfully at a port of entry. Those who arrive at a port of entry will remain eligible for asylum. The President also deployed additional resources to support our ports of entry.
Last week, the Democrats gained control of the House of Representatives. This likely effectively kills any serious efforts to construct the President’s border wall and makes it even less likely that a comprehensive immigration reform bill is going to be passed that upgrades border security.
Congressman Brooks has been a strong proponent of limiting immigration and getting cracking down on illegal immigration.
Brooks was re-elected to his fifth term representing the Fifth Congressional District on Tuesday.
