EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – A West Texas congressman says he’s filed a resolution condemning the Biden administration for “failing to enforce immigration laws” and secure U.S. borders. The resolution also urges the administration to take a different approach to individuals entering the country illegally and mitigate any ensuing national security threats.
U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, recently also called for the administration to designate the ruthless Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua as a transnational criminal organization. Tren de Aragua members have been linked to high-profile crimes in the U.S. this year.
“Americans are fed up with President Biden’s broken immigration policies. The people of my district see it firsthand every day – the border crisis in our backyard,” Gonzales said on Tuesday.
The resolution alleges the administration has “incentivized” 9.5 million migrants to come into the United States and released 6.4 million into the country. It also alleges the administration has failed to deport migrants who don’t qualify for the narrowly defined political asylum status and is abusing its discretion to mass parole applicants.
The bill has been referred to the House Judiciary Committee and the House Committee on Homeland Security.
Nationwide migrant encounters since Oct. 1, 2020.
A check of U.S. Customs and Border Protection public data reveals that, as of Feb. 29, the U.S. Border Patrol and the Office of Field Operations have reported a combined 9,411,440 million encounters nationwide since Oct. 1, 2020. It’s not clear how many of those are asylum-seekers surrendering to authorities. Biden took office in January 2021.
The resolution mentions the brutal killing of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley, allegedly by Jose Ibarra, of Venezuela. Ibarra is an alleged member of Tren de Aragua who surrendered in El Paso, Texas, in September 2022 and was released on parole within a day.
Last month, the government of Colombia began extradition procedures against Aderbis Segundo Pirela Pirela, a Venezuelan national arrested in New Braunfels during a traffic stop. Pirela is wanted on homicide charges in Colombia and is now being held by U.S. immigration authorities.
He is the alleged co-leader of the Satanas gang, an offshoot of Tren de Aragua.
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