EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, says he’s not surprised at reports that nine out of 10 people coming across the border illegally are getting released into the country as soon as they claim asylum.
What worries him is the domino effect such a trend creates in terms of fostering additional migration of people likely ineligible for asylum, and the strain a migrant surge after another puts on border law enforcement agencies and communities.
“The issue that many of us in the House Republican side have, is this massive catch-and-release that is occurring,” Gonzales, whose district includes 800 miles of U.S.-Mexico border, said in a Wednesday teleconference with reporters. “Somebody can enter our country illegally, they can be processed, and they can immediately be released into the country, and in some cases, they get work visas.”
“The administration is rewarding those who do it the wrong way, that are breaking our laws, and they are punishing those who are trying to apply for work visas, that are trying to enter the United States legally.”
Federal officials closed the month of December exhausted after processing an estimated 300,000 migrants coming between lawful ports of entry. Gonzales said the record surge left large swaths of border unguarded and key highway checkpoints – the second line of defense after the border wall – unmanned. This, as Border Patrol agents were summoned to assist with processing duties.
This affects local police, commerce and lawful crossers, as was the case in Eagle Pass, Texas just three weeks ago, he said. Then the strain is passed on to cities in the interior of the country that are a destination for migrants.
“When the numbers swell up like that, people (encountered) in Eagle Pass are going to San Antonio. The migrant center in San Antonio has been busting at the seams. You almost can’t transit down there. I am hearing more and more form local citizens that are saying, ‘we’ve had enough,’ that this is madness,” Gonzales said. “I’m hearing more and more from local elected officials that are looking more and more for solutions to this crisis.”
The Republican’s public stance comes at a time when Congress is trying to break up a partisan logjam holding up aid for Ukraine and Israel and threatening to derail budget negotiations. The Biden administration reportedly is considering raising the bar on credible fear interviews at the border – the first step for an asylum claim to proceed.
Several Democratic lawmakers and a broad coalition of pro-immigrant and faith-based organizations oppose such a move, saying it’ll put vulnerable migrant families in harm’s way and further empower transnational criminal organizations that control smuggling routes in Mexico.
Gonzales represents parts of Northeast and Far East El Paso. His stance on immigration often clashes with the other El Paso rep in the House, U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas. Escobar is a co-sponsor of The Dignity Act, which has some Republican support including that of co-sponsor Maria Elvira Salazar, R-Florida. The Dignity Act would legalize millions of undocumented immigrants but also mandate employers to verify employment eligibility of their workers from then on.
Gonzales says comprehensive immigration reform has little shot of passing a divided Congress. What’s needed now is securing the border and preventing migrants – often coached by smugglers – from gaming the system.
An immediate solution “is getting (asylum) cases adjudicated early, immediately, I would say,” Gonzales said, suggesting an expansion of the controversial “rocket docket” – an expedited review of an asylum case, starting with those who entered the border most recently.
“Last case in, is the first case heard. If you qualify for asylum, if you are one of those 1 out of 10 people who are legitimately fleeing persecution, you are afforded the laws that we have. And if you are not, you are immediately removed, and you’re not removed to Mexico, where you can come back illegally, you are removed back to your country of origin,” Gonzales said.
Activists point out mass repatriation to countries like Venezuela, Haiti and Cuba is out of the question, given how those countries would not agree to such flights. Gonzales, who has met routinely with border agents and officers who encounter the migrants, says many Venezuelans and Haitians left their countries long ago and bolted for the U.S. from their residences in Peru, Chile, Brazil and Central America. They can be sent there. “As soon as you do that, it stops,” he said.
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