The U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security – a standing committee that oversees the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) – on Wednesday (January 31) approved two articles of impeachment against the Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas. He was accused of failing to enforce U.S. immigration policy at the country’s southern border, which separates the United States from Mexico.
While all 18 House Republican representatives on the committee voted to recommend impeachment charges, all 15 House Democratic representatives opposed the move. A full House vote on impeaching Mayorkas could happen as soon as next week.
The development highlights growing tensions between Republicans and Democrats over immigration, particularly as the 2024 presidential elections approach. We take a look.
What is happening at the US southern border?
There has been an increase in the number of migrants entering the United States through the Mexican border in recent years, particularly under Mexico’s presidency. Joe Biden. A Washington Post The report states: “According to the latest DHS report, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has released more than 2.3 million migrants into the country at the southern border under the Biden administration, allowing entry to the large majority of migrant families and certain groups of adults.
Meanwhile, more than 6 million migrants were taken into custody by CBP during the same period. In November 2023 alone, nearly 250,000 illegal crossings took place along the southern border, and the majority of them were released into the country with pending protection applications.
According to a 2023 report from The New York TimesThere are about 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States today, three times the number who lived here in 1990.
The influx of migrants has strained the resources of cities like New York, Chicago and Denver – cities run by Democrats and where Republican governors in southern states have pushed these undocumented migrants to, The Economist reported. So the Democratic mayors of these cities have consistently called for more federal help to shelter and welcome newcomers.
But why was there a wave of migration to the United States?
Republicans blame the increase in the number of migrants on President Biden’s immigration policies. During his 2020 campaign, Biden promised to reverse Trump’s anti-immigration approach and take a more humane stance.
According to a report from the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), since taking office, Biden has eased the Trump-era crackdown on migrants, lifting the suspension of green card processing, halting construction of the interstate border wall -United and Mexico and accelerating reunification. of migrant families, cancellation of safe third country agreements, etc. It also introduced new “parole” policies, which allow some migrants to enter legally on humanitarian grounds, and removed the practice of family detention since 2021.
While Biden’s critics say his policies have encouraged migration to the United States, circumstances beyond his control have also played a major role.
The Economist noted that whenever there is an increase in demand for workers in the U.S. labor market, the number of illegal immigrants increases. That’s why that number skyrocketed during the early years of the Trump administration, before declining due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“When travel became possible again in 2021, pent-up demand led to an influx of people across the southern border,” the report adds.
Additionally, increased global migration has also contributed to the recent increase in illegal border crossings. The economic crisis in Venezuela has pushed millions of people to leave the country. Gang violence in Central America has driven many away. Tens of thousands of people are now arriving in the Americas from countries including Russia (43,000 by September 2023), India (42,000) and China (24,000) and attempting to cross the border. The Economist reported.
Why has the United States failed to combat illegal immigration?
The reasons mentioned above, however, are not at the heart of the problem of mass undocumented migration to the United States. This is a decades-old problem that persists largely for three main reasons: strict immigration laws, the failure of the U.S. Congress to reform those laws, and an overburdened immigration court system.
Currently, legal immigration to the United States is almost impossible for most people, according to another report from The New York Times.
David J. Bier, associate director of immigration studies at the Cato Institute, estimated last year that only about 3 percent of those who attempted to settle permanently in the United States were able to do so. legally, the report adds. “Legal immigration is less about waiting in line than winning the lottery: it happens, but it is so rare that it is irrational to expect it in an individual case,” he wrote . Therefore, most would-be immigrants attempt to enter the United States illegally.
The other reason the United States has failed to combat illegal immigration is the burden placed on its immigration courts. A recent report from The Economist said there are more than three million cases in these courts (as of November 2023) and it takes on average more than four years to get an initial asylum hearing. Experts suggest that to deal with this backlog, the United States needs to double the number of current judges, in addition to adding more interpreters, paralegals and paralegals.
The New York Times The report notes that making the system more efficient would “reduce the incentive to submit frivolous asylum applications in order to legally reside in the United States while waiting for an application to be denied.”
More importantly, Congress has failed to pass laws to fix America’s broken immigration system for years.
The last comprehensive legislation – addressing issues such as labor demands, the legal status of undocumented immigrants living in the United States, border security and domestic control – to pass Congress was in 1986 under President Ronald Reagan.
Congress’s failure to initiate meaningful immigration reform is largely due to political gridlock between Republicans and Democrats. The border agreement currently being negotiated in the Senate is a good example. Although the agreement to resolve the problem of migrants entering through the southern border has been in the works for months, the two sides have not reached a consensus.
“Each side is suspicious of the other’s motives. ” The Economist report said.
How could the immigration issue affect the 2024 presidential race?
As Biden struggles to curb the growing number of migrants entering the United States through the southern border, Republicans have stepped up their attacks against him. Recent polls show that immigration is quickly emerging as the top issue in 2024 polls.
This is at the heart of why the GOP is trying to impeach Mayorkas. They also refused to approve emergency funding for Ukraine unless the border deal is passed.
Worse still for Biden, his handling of immigration and the southern border is his lowest-rated issue, The Washington Post reported.
He was notably criticized by both the left and the right. While the right has accused him of not doing enough to curb the influx of migrants, the left feels betrayed as President Biden has recently adopted some of Trump’s anti-immigration policies – last week he said he would be willing to close the U.S.-Mexico deal. border if senators reach an agreement on the border.
Donald Trump, poised to become the Republican presidential nominee, is doing much better than Biden on immigration. Polls show that more than twice as many people trust Trump as Biden on this issue.
This is why many experts believe that immigration can bring Trump back to the White House.
