Just 3.5 percent of over 127,000 illegal youths arrested on the U.S.-Mexico border over the last two and a half years have been returned home, sparking Sen. Jeff Sessions to bark at a Senate hearing, “Give me a break, who’s running this country? Aren’t we entitled to have a system of laws?”
At a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the topic of the two recent surges of minors across the U.S. border, Sessions provided the new numbers: 127,193, apprehended over last two and a half years and 4,680 returned. He later added, “97 percent of unaccompanied minors evade deportation through administration lawlessness.”
The rest, said the Alabama senator, have either been placed with family and friends or are in the legal system.
Immigration has become a contentious issue on Capitol Hill and on the campaign trail, with GOP front-runner Donald Trump pushing for better border control.
On the Hill, Sessions and other administration critics claim that by letting in so many illegal immigrants, especially youths, the message to those in Central America is that the United States has an open door policy.
Sessions believes that if a majority of those trying to enter illegally were sent back, the message would be don’t try to cross the border, and two different administration officials said a tougher border policy would likely limit illegal crossings.
“I don’t disagree with that,” said Thomas Homan, executive associate director for enforcement and removal operations with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
He added, “I think that if you have a consequence and deterrence to illegal activity the illegal activity will slow down.”
Ronald Vitiello, deputy chief of the U.S. Border Patrol, added, “Yes, I believe that matters.”
Sessions hit president for looking on every unaccompanied illegal minor as a victim of crime back home, and eligible for asylum.
“If caught, they should be treated fairly and sent home,” said Sessions. But, he added, “it cannot be that every young person that appears from Central America is entitled to asylum or entry into the United States contrary to our laws. It just cannot be. Does anybody in this government not understand that? That’s what people are upset about.”
Democrats approached the issue differently, backing the president’s open door policy and calling for more legal and social aid for the children.
Illinois Sen. Richard Durbin, for example, said that those given legal help typically have a better chance of getting asylum. He said that 73 percent of those provided lawyers got to stay in the country.
Issues of sex abuse and forced labor involving the illegal minors was also raised, and officials could not rule out that there has been abuse.
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected].
