Sens. Hoeven, Moran, colleagues seek DHS southern border policy revisions insight

U.S. Sens. John Hoeven (R-ND) and Jerry Moran (R-KS) joined 11 colleagues in forwarding correspondence last week to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), seeking insight regarding recent southern border policy revisions.

The letter was sent to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, detailing the senators’ concerns with the Biden administration’s recent actions and the impact policy changes will have on how DHS enforces border security and processes southern border migrants.

“Securing the southern border and deterring the sustained, record-breaking flow of illegal and irregular migration should be a top priority for DHS,” the senators wrote. “Unfortunately, the Biden administration has done the opposite by instituting policies that encourage individuals to make the dangerous trek north and entrust their safety to dangerous drug cartels at the risk of being murdered, assaulted or trafficked.”

During fiscal year 2021, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recorded 1.7 million encounters with individuals attempting to cross the border illegally, which they maintain represents the highest single-year total ever recorded.

“The Biden administration’s decision to terminate the Title 42 public health order that provided border agents the authority to perform expedited removals is the latest example of troubling policy moves,” the senators concluded. “Last year, Title 42 was used more than 1 million times to quickly expel individuals who crossed the border illegally. Such a move will undoubtedly leave CBP and law enforcement along the border vulnerable to being overwhelmed in the face of sustained record levels of illegal crossings.”