South Carolina Republican Lindsey Graham has unveiled a bill to end backlogged asylum claims clogging our ports of entry and leading to a dramatic increase in illegal immigration.
Graham’s proposal would specifically end asylum claims from Central American countries at the border. Unaccompanied minors would return to their country of origin.
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“This is a nightmare for smugglers,” Graham said. “This is a godsend to stop the humanitarian disaster.”
Graham’s bill is designed specifically to deal with loopholes he says are encouraging migrants from Central America to make the treacherous journey north and bring children with them. He pointed in particular to the 20-day limit for authorities to hold unaccompanied minors and families before having to release them into the U.S. homeland.
“The word is out on the street in Central America if you bring a minor child with you, your chance of being deported goes to almost zero, your hearing date is years away and we release you inside the country and that’s the goal of coming,” he said.
The bill would end asylum claims at the U.S. border for migrants from the Northern Triangle of Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador. Instead, those applications would be filed at refugee processing centers set up in the Northern Triangle and Mexico. The legislation would also allow unaccompanied minors to be returned to their country of origin, which Graham said would be treating them the same as minors from Canada and Mexico.