Former ICE Director Tom Homan slams the Biden administration for dismissing 350,000 asylum cases since 2022, accusing them of fueling the border crisis and promoting amnesty. The move has raised concerns about illegal immigration and the potential benefits to Democrats in the next Census.
According to a report by Syracuse University's Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), the U.S. government has closed over 350,000 asylum cases filed by migrants since 2022. The closures were based on the grounds that those who filed did not have a criminal record or were not deemed a threat to the United States.
The New York Post has characterized the move as "Biden's mass amnesty." Critics argue that these closures will allow hundreds of thousands of migrants to remain in the U.S. illegally, potentially impacting the upcoming Census and benefiting Democrats politically.
Tom Homan, former acting ICE Director, has accused the Biden administration of being aware of the issues with asylum cases and intentionally dismissing them to avoid deportations. "They know that based on immigration court data in the last 10 years, nine out of 10 of these people claim asylum at the border won't win a case," he said.
Homan believes that the administration wants these individuals to remain illegally in the country to be counted in the next Census, which could benefit Democrats electorally.
Former President Trump has pledged to order the largest-ever deportation if elected in November. He has criticized Biden for not taking stronger action to close the border and address the immigration crisis.
Homan agrees with Trump, asserting that deportations are essential to enforce the law and discourage illegal immigration. "They must be removed, because if you don't, what the hell are we doing?" he said.
Retired Border Patrol agent Chris Clem has questioned why the Biden administration has waited until a few months before the election to announce an executive order addressing the border issue.
The anticipated executive order is expected to include a daily threshold for the number of migrants allowed to enter the U.S. and to deny asylum requests beyond that threshold. However, critics believe this measure will be ineffective in addressing the crisis.
The immigration court backlog has grown exponentially in recent years, with nearly 3.6 million cases pending as of FY 2024. Immigration judges are struggling to keep pace with the influx of new cases, leading to a growing backlog.
The number of new cases filed and the number of cases completed by immigration judges are both on pace to exceed all-time highs this year, according to the TRAC report. However, the pace of completions will likely be insufficient to stem the growing backlog.
The Biden administration's handling of the border crisis and asylum cases has sparked controversy and raised concerns about the impact on the upcoming election and the overall health of the immigration system.
