Nebraska Panhandle News

On September 18, 2024, U.S. Senators Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Deb Fischer (R-NE), and John Cornyn (R-TX) issued statements following the unanimous Senate passage of their Southern Border Transparency Act. The bill mandates the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to provide detailed reports on migrant encounters and releases into the United States, including their countries of origin.

“The American people deserve to know the truth about the border crisis,” said Ricketts. “The Biden-Harris administration has refused to be transparent about their flagrant abuse of the parole program. This bill will hold them accountable for the millions of illegal aliens they’ve released into the country.”

Fischer echoed these sentiments: “The Biden-Harris administration has tried to hide their immigration failures by abusing immigration programs and outright lying. As bad as the border situation is, we still don’t have a full accounting of how many migrants this administration has imported into our country. This bill will force them to tell the truth.”

Cornyn added, “The Biden-Harris administration has gone to great lengths to hide the ball when it comes to levels of illegal immigration, but the American people deserve to know exactly how many migrants are being released into the country and exactly on what terms. This is the most basic of transparency measures – just the facts, that’s all we’re looking for.”

The legislation is also cosponsored by Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Senators Bill Hagerty (R-TN), J.D. Vance (R-OH), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), James Lankford (R-OK), Ted Budd (R-NC), Todd Young (R-IN), Steve Daines (R-MT), Mike Lee (R-UT), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Roger Marshall (R-KS), John Hoeven (R-ND), John Kennedy (R-LA), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Katie Britt (R-AL), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), and Dan Sullivan (R-AK).

BACKGROUND:

The Biden-Harris administration has implemented policies to manage migrant influx at the border, including "parole" or unlawful release programs such as those for Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan, and Venezuelan migrants. These initiatives include an expanded American Minors program that now covers adults and widespread use of parole at Ports of Entry. While these migrants can obtain work authorization, there is limited information on whether they can stay or must leave.

The Southern Border Transparency Act would compel DHS to report comprehensively on its handling of migrants encountered at the border, covering parole numbers, apprehensions, petitions, and release data.

Last year, new programs allowed thousands from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela to legally remain in the U.S. for two years with work authorizations available for up to 360,000 individuals annually.