Republicans have criticized President Biden for the new Department of Homeland Security rules, arguing that they are merely an election-year move to help Biden in a close race against former President Donald Trump.
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida) said, “Biden announced these new rules for criminal immigrants because they are releasing immigrants with terrorism links into the United States and there are attacks before the election.” “This was to panic and hide in case something happened.” on X (formerly Twitter).
Last week, DHS announced proposed rule changes that would raise the “statutory standard for asylum” in the evaluation process.
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President Biden faced criticism over the timing of enacting new rules tightening asylum standards ahead of the election. (Getty Images)
DHS officials told FOX News Digital that the proposed rule would not change eligibility criteria, but would simply move security threat assessments forward in the process.
“This rule provides DHS with regulatory controls that will allow us to more quickly remove people who pose a risk to our national security or public safety,” the department’s press release reads. .
“President Biden has taken 94 executive actions to open our borders in his first 100 days in office,” Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-Va.) wrote in X. “Now, months before the election, President Biden has finally taken the obvious step that should have been taken years ago.”
She called the move “small and necessary,” but argued it “does nothing to address the larger border crisis he has caused.”
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The border is the biggest issue for voters in November. (James Breeden, New York Post/Mega)
This opinion was echoed by Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.), who said in X: “We’re less than six months away from the election and he’s trying to change the narrative a little bit about a chaotic border. They already have the power to do it. plug.”
The White House has not commented on the criticism to Fox News Digital.
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Biden and Trump are expected to have a close race in the election. (Megan Varner/Getty Images)
Republicans questioned the Biden administration’s motivations for change, but not all Democrats were happy about it either.
Asylum seeker rights advocate Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) told X: “I am carefully considering the government’s proposed rules. Moving to the stage of a credible fear interview puts legitimate asylum seekers at risk because they are concerned that refugees may be at risk of returning. ”
“To improve the asylum system, we need to fully fund it and provide access to lawyers,” he added.
The Secretary of Homeland Security said, “The proposed rules we are announcing today will keep Americans safe by more quickly identifying and removing individuals who pose a national security risk and have no legal basis to remain here.” This is another step in our ongoing efforts to do so.” Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement regarding this rule: “We will continue to take action, but at its core, only Congress can fix what we all agree is a broken immigration system.”
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Senate Majority Leader Schumer is considering reintroducing the border bill, which Republicans oppose. (AP Photo/Jacqueline Martin)
Mayorkas recently made history when he became the second Cabinet member to be impeached, with the House passing two articles against him. The last Cabinet-level impeachment took place more than 100 years ago. However, the Secretary was not fired because Senate Democrats were able to reject the article shortly after it was introduced.
The proposal comes months before the November presidential election, which is shaping up to be a close race between Biden and Trump.
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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York is also trying to refocus Congress on the border issue, and is strongly considering reviving border legislation opposed by nearly every Republican, sources said.
Several incumbent Democratic senators face significant challenges in the upcoming elections, and the party will fight to maintain its Senate majority.
