CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — There have been calls from Democrats and Republicans alike for President Joe Biden to put a stop to his immigrant catch and release program, which was put back in place after the president dismantled the former administration's rigid immigration policies.
Those detractors are saying that the policy is encouraging Central Americans to leave their home country with no real hope of ever gaining asylum here.
"We as a nation have a right to define our border, defend our border, and know who's coming in and who's coming out," State Senator Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa said. "I do not support open border policies."
Hinojosa spoke with 3News Tuesday morning about the Biden administration's new policy of catch and release.
"We certainly encourage the Biden administration not to encourage people from South America or Central America coming in," Hinojosa said. "Now it's not only Central America. There are people from Africa and a lot of Asians coming across the border, so it's a real challenge. It's a real problem we have to try to fix."
The senator said those immigrants were not being tested for COVID-19 until he was asked to step in to help make it happen.
"Just in the McAllen area alone, over 1,000 immigrants coming across a day, and they weren't being tested until the mayor of the City of McAllen requested through me help from the Governor's Office to be able to test those migrants," Hinojosa said.
Of course Governor Greg Abbott has ordered the National Guard and State Troopers down to the border to help stop the flow of illegal drugs and the business of human smuggling.
"What's happening on our border right now is shameful because I think we have to have better policy. Ideas we could resolve this," Congressman Vicente Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez has been outspoken over the change in U.S. border policy.
"We have sent the wrong message when we allow new migrants to come across the border and be processed and released, and it incentivizes others in Central America to make that same trek," Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez has written a letter to the president in hopes that the chaos along the Rio Grande can be changed into a more thoughtful and orderly immigration plan.
"I have proposed that we have a process for asylum seekers to ask for asylum in their home country or neighboring country by going to a U.S. embassy or consulate around the world," Gonzalez said.
The congressman believes that idea makes more sense because, as he pointed out, data on immigration shows that over 80-percent of asylum seekers never qualify for asylum.
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