Utah Valley Times

WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT), Ranking Member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC)’s Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Spending Oversight, has joined his colleagues in sending three letters criticizing the Biden Administration's border policies.

In a letter to President Biden, Romney and his colleagues expressed concerns regarding an Executive Order offering amnesty to illegal aliens unlawfully present in the United States. They urged him to rescind this policy. The full text of the letter, led by Senator Lankford (R-OK), is available online.

“Parole was never intended as a mass amnesty. Your actions fly in the face of the clear reading of the law. Due to reckless policies, your Administration has encountered more illegal aliens at the southern border than the Obama administration and Trump administration combined,” the senators wrote. “DHS recently promulgated regulations that appear to tighten the border, but the implementing policy guidance, the DHS website, and the border data since implementation show what all Americans know – the border remains wide open.”

In another letter to President Biden, Romney and his HSGAC Republican colleagues criticized what they described as "open border policies" affecting national security. The letter cited an allegedly leaked memo instructing U.S. Border Patrol agents to release migrants into the U.S., despite an Executive Order barring such migrants from receiving asylum. The full text of this letter, led by Senator Rick Scott (R-FL), is also available online.

“Just days after you announced executive action that purports to crack down on illegal immigration, it appears that your administration is still intent on continuing to disregard and undermine not only established immigration law but also your own executive order," they wrote. "The intent here is clear: the executive order was…designed to change the narrative around the border crisis you created, while this new U.S. Border Patrol memo maintains your status quo of purposeful action to create a wide-open border and encourage historic illegal immigration.”

Romney and his HSGAC Republican colleagues have also requested a hearing with Senator Gary Peters (D-MI), Chairman of HSGAC, to examine potential threats posed by terrorists exploiting unsecured southern borders. The letter outlines how current policies may allow potential terrorists entry into the United States, posing significant risks to national security. The full text of this letter, led by Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), Ranking Member of HSGAC, can be found online.

“Faced with elevated threats, it is well past time to hold a public hearing on the danger of terrorism facilitated by easy access across the border,” they wrote. “For over three years, members of this Committee have repeatedly sounded the alarm on the need for oversight of the crisis at Southwest border...Therefore we urge you to convene a critically needed hearing with top officials from relevant federal agencies.”

###