A Caravan of Illegal Immigrants, A Test of U.S. Borders

WASHINGTON, April 16, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- "A Caravan of Illegal Immigrants: A Test of U.S. Borders" was the topic of a recent hearing before the Subcommittee on National Security of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Andrew Arthur, the Center for Immigration Studies Resident Fellow in Law and Policy, testified about the loopholes and flaws in U.S. immigration law which have led to a 200 percent increase in the number of aliens entering illegally or seeking entry without proper documents since the major decline after the election of President Trump.

Arthur testified about the misuse of the "credible fear of persecution" standard, which was written into immigration law in 1996 to expedite the removal of aliens entering illegally. Aliens now claiming credible fear know that if they succeed, they will be released from custody to apply for asylum. The number of credible fear cases has increased from 5,523 in FY 2009 to 88,864 cases in FY 2016.

View the full testimony at: https://cis.org/Testimony/Caravan-Illegal-Immigrants-Test-US-Borders

According to Arthur, "... most of the aliens in the caravan, should they come to the United States and claim credible fear, would likely be released to await an asylum hearing that may be years in the future if they appear at all."

Other flaws highlighted by Arthur included: Interpretations of the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (TVPRA) that result in the release of tens of thousands of minors from countries other than Mexico, including many who were not actually trafficking victims; the Flores v. Reno decision, which created a presumption that alien minors apprehended at the border should be released into the interior of the U.S., creating an incentive for illegal entry; and a 2008 expansion of eligibility for Special Immigrant Juvenile visas, providing an incentive for alien minors to be entrusted to smugglers to gain entry to the U.S.

Contact: Marguerite Telford
202-466-8185, [email protected]

SOURCE Center for Immigration Studies