RPC Newsletter 5.3.22

Republican Policy Committee Digest

America’s “effectively managed” Border

Last week, House Republicans grilled President Biden’s cabinet while they were on the Hill testifying before committees about their 2023 budgets. The hearings highlighted the disastrous impact this administration’s actions are having on America. Unfortunately, the Biden administration’s 2023 plans double down on the same damaging policies.

Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas testified in front of multiple House committees last week, giving members ample opportunity to highlight the border crisis. Mayorkas attests that he has “effectively managed” and has “operational control” of the border, but the numbers tell the real story.

In March 2022 alone, the Border Patrol apprehended 221,203 illegal immigrants—that’s enough people to fill an average Major League Baseball stadium 5 times over. Worse still, that number includes more than 14,000 unaccompanied alien children (UACs). The border is far from effectively managed. This problem is not confined to states along the southern border, it impacts all Americans.

RPC’s recent policy guide examines how UACs are endangered by the #BidenBorderCrisis.

• Children have not escaped Biden’s bad border policies. For example, Secretary Mayorkas promised not to expel UACs, effectively inviting them to enter whether they have an asylum claim or not.

• After they are apprehended by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), UACs are transferred to the care of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to await their immigration hearing. The Office of Refugee Resettlement houses UACs in shelters until a suitable sponsor is found, likely a relative already in the U.S.

• HHS has routinely demonstrated that they lose many of the children in their care. Between January 2021 and February 2022, HHS failed to reach 19,726 of the sponsors with whom they placed children.

• HHS loses track of children and moves on, ignoring the possibility of abuse, trafficking, or initiation into a gang.

• Congress can act to ensure that UACs are properly treated and safe. Congress may hold HHS accountable for performing safety checks and reduce factors that pull children to the border.

RPC has a library of resources on the Biden border crisis that address issues such as the following:

• From day one, the Biden administration has been diligently unwinding policies that protect our borders. This guide delves into the four important policies that have been weakened and resulted in the growing security and humanitarian crisis. 

• Fentanyl from China is streaming in through our open southern border. This briefer explains the deadly amount of fentanyl coming into our country and the disastrous impact of Biden’s open-border policies. 

Chairman's Corner

During a hearing last week, Rep. Gary Palmer questioned the energy policies being pushed by Department of Energy Secretary Granholm. During this time of record high gas prices and inflation, the Biden administration is more focused on shifting blame than solving problems.

Link to tweet