Hinds Today

U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) has highlighted the Senate's passage of legislation she cosponsored to mandate that the Biden-Harris administration accurately disclose its handling of migrants. The aim is to provide a full accounting of the number of illegal border crossers released into the United States.

The Senate approved the Southern Border Transparency Act (S.3187) by unanimous consent last week. Hyde-Smith is an original cosponsor of S.3187, which was introduced by U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas). The bill has now been received in the House of Representatives.

“For almost four years, the Biden-Harris administration has hidden behind dodgy numbers and stonewalling to deflect attention from the millions of illegal immigrants crossing our borders. It hasn’t fooled the American people, who should know the full scope, costs, and dangers associated with this administration’s failed border policies,” Hyde-Smith said. “The House should take up this bill without delay to force transparency on this administration.”

“The Biden-Harris administration has gone to great lengths to hide the ball when it comes to levels of illegal immigration, but the American people deserve to know exactly how many migrants are being released into the country and exactly on what terms. This is the most basic of transparency measures—just the facts, that’s all we’re looking for,” Cornyn said.

The Biden-Harris administration has used tools such as funneling migrants into so-called “parole” or other unlawful release programs to reduce apprehensions at the U.S.-Mexico border and avoid removing foreign nationals who enter illegally.

Currently, only limited public data is available on how many people have been released into the country by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) under programs established without congressional consent.

The Southern Border Transparency Act would require DHS to fully report on how it handles migrants encountered at the border.

As a member of the Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, Hyde-Smith has consistently confronted Biden-Harris administration officials about their unwillingness to acknowledge humanitarian and security threats at the border or embrace necessary policy changes for securing it.