President Biden Border & Immigration Executive Orders Leave Unacceptable Security Gaps

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. John Katko (R-NY), lead Republican of the House Committee on Homeland Security, has called on the Biden Administration to provide clarification around the Department’s implementation of several executive actions that weaken border security.

In a letter to DHS Secretary Mayorkas, Ranking Member Katko urges the Department to continue progress on border wall system construction projects that have already been funded through bipartisan Congressional appropriations. Ranking Member Katko warns that halting progress on border security infrastructure will only make our southwest border less secure. The letter continues stating, “Weakening border security, especially during a pandemic, will only result in another humanitarian and national security crisis at the southwest border, fueled by these policy decisions.”

In a corresponding effort, Ranking Member Katko implored President Biden to address the impact of his recent executive action which will lessen screening and vetting requirements for countries excluded from the Visa Wavier Program by Congress, designated as State Sponsors of Terrorism, or determined to be of concern by both the Obama Administration the Trump Administration. The letter states, “This implies that the administration has decided to revoke screening and vetting procedures, and then later study whether the revoked tools are effective. This confusing process, I fear, places politics ahead of national security.”

Ranking Member Katko has conducted his oversight responsibilities to prevent the unwinding of productive policies of the last four years essential to securing our nation’s borders and enforcing our immigration laws, to include:

• Launching an oversight inquiry, joined by House Committee on Foreign Affairs Republican leader Michael McCaul (TX-10), into an unprecedented insider threat that compromised the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program.
• Urging the Biden Administration to reconsider his suspension of the Migrant Protection Protocols partnership with Mexico and halting deportations of individuals with a final order of removal.
• Warning against a shift to an open border policy under the Biden Administration and committing himself as a leading voice on the importance of a secure border, while advocating for common-sense security solutions such as a combination of infrastructure and technology.

###