News for North Texas
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Cornyn hopes to block Biden plan that would allow tens of thousands of migrants to remain in U.S.

J. Scott Applewhite
/
Associated Press
U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said Monday he plans to introduce a resolution to block an immigration parole program the Biden administration has proposed.

On FOX News, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn said he plans to stop a proposed rule that would allow tens of thousands of migrants from Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Haiti to stay in the U.S. as their asylum cases are under consideration.

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn said Monday he’ll introduce a resolution to block a proposal by the Biden administration that would allow tens of thousands of migrants to live and work in the United States while their asylum claims play out in court.

In late January, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said the program will allow up to 30,000 people from Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Haiti to be paroled into the country under current immigration laws as they seek relief in the United States. The immigration parole process allows someone who would otherwise not be allowed to temporarily stay in the United States, according to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.

The migrants need to apply for the protection in their home countries, will be subject to a background and security check and will need a sponsor in the United States that can offer financial support.

Cornyn said the Biden policy will only grow unauthorized immigration, which has soared to near-record levels since the president took office in 2021. Cornyn also insisted that Biden refuses to work with Congress on the issue.

“He seems like he wants to go it alone, but so far it’s not working,” Cornyn told FOX News when he announced the resolution. “Part of the president’s policies are attracting more illegal immigration.”

He said he and his colleagues would introduce the Congressional Review Act, “which is a way Congress can overrule that administrative rule because I believe it will do nothing but make things worse and not better.”

Cornyn’s appearance on the conservative news network came the morning after hundreds of migrants from South America blocked traffic at the Paso Del Norte bridge that connects El Paso and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.

The migrants, most of them from Venezuela, reportedly were responding to rumors that they would be allowed to cross and seek asylum in the United States, according to Mexican media outlet Norte Digital.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is also challenging the Biden proposal, in federal court in Texas. Paxton and 19 other GOP-led states filed a lawsuit in January alleging the rule “unlawfully creates a de facto pathway to citizenship.”

“[The policy] is not case-by-case, is not for urgent humanitarian reasons, and advances no significant public benefit. Instead, it amounts to the creation of a new visa program that allows hundreds of thousands of aliens to enter the United States who otherwise have no basis for doing so,” the court filing states.

KERA News is made possible through the generosity of our members. If you find this reporting valuable, consider making a tax-deductible gift today. Thank you.

Got a tip? Email Julián Aguilar at jaguilar@kera.org.You can follow Julián on Twitter @nachoaguilar.