EXCLUSIVE: More than two dozen House Republicans on Wednesday urged the Biden government to oppose efforts to weaken the screening of immigrants and refugees arriving in the United States for national security reasons.
“We are extremely concerned about the Biden government’s plans to weaken the screening and scrutiny of foreigners coming to the United States, including refugee candidates in the [U.S. Refugee Admissions Program] and other humanitarian-based US immigration programs, “says the letter, signed by 26 House Republicans.
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“These plans, as seen in a series of recent executive orders, will lead to permanent resettlement in the American communities of more refugees and other humanitarian-based immigrants – as promised by the Biden-Harris campaign – at the expense of our public safety and security.”
The card includes Reps. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz .; Yvette Herrell, RN.M .; Chip Roy, R-Texas; Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Col .; and Bill Posey, R-Fla.
The letter was sent after Biden decided to dramatically increase the number of refugees the United States receives in a year from 15,000 to 125,000. Part of that move would allegedly involve reducing the verification restrictions imposed by the Trump administration.
The US is expected to return to the referral system of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. Republicans say Biden’s order, in seeking to improve the “effectiveness” of the ballot, is in fact an attempt to weaken screening.
Lawmakers note that the refugee order repeals previous Trump-era orders, including one that mandated that the refugee program be administered in a risk-based manner. They accuse Biden of promoting fraud by encouraging remote interviews via video and audio.
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Lawmakers also claim that the sections allow failed refugee applicants to review their case file, which means that those applicants could “improve” their stories on the appeal, and expand the definition of refugee to potentially include those displaced by climate change.
“Worse, the Biden government’s plan to weaken screening and scrutiny with the aim of resettling more refugees from abroad in American communities ignores the refugee crisis right under its nose,” they say. “By this, we mean the accumulation of more than 1.1 million asylum seekers who are already within the United States and are awaiting judgment on their claims.”
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The letter asks for a briefing on the government’s actions on vetting and refugees, and asks DHS secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Secretary of State Antony Blinken to oppose efforts to weaken screening and, instead, develop the measures taken in the Trump administration.
It represents the Republicans’ latest concern over the Biden government’s immigration movements. On Tuesday, more than 50 Republicans warned President Biden of an illegal migration “crisis” on the southern border amid signs of an increase in numbers.
William LaJeunesse and The Associated Press, Fox News, contributed to this report.