WASHINGTON — On Tuesday, while the political press was focusing on the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, the Obama Administration quietly announced plans to expand its “Central American Minors Refugee/Parole Program,” which was created after the so-called “border surge” in the summer of 2014.
Under the changes, new classes of immigrants will be allowed in the country.
Among those will be the sons and daughters of parents already admitted in the U.S. who are over 21 years old; in-country biological parents of qualified children; and “caregivers” of qualified children who are also related to the U.S.-based lawfully present parents.
Upon hearing the news, Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions unloaded on the administration’s decision.
“Now, with the stroke of a pen, the Obama Administration intends to circumvent statutory law at the behest of the open-borders lobbyists and extremists within the Democratic Party,” said Sessions. “This will only encourage more lawlessness, exacerbate the current situation at our border, and erode public confidence in the integrity of our immigration system.”
Sessions has long been one of the most outspoken members of Congress on several key national security issues, chiefly immigration. Most recently, Sessions pushed legislation to punish sanctuary cities, which harbor illegal immigrants against federal law.
RELATED: Shelby, Sessions push to defund sanctuary cities
The Senate could soon take a vote on “Kate’s Law” which would guarantee a five-year prison sentence for illegal immigrants who cross back into the U.S. after being deported. If passed, the law would crack down on sanctuary cities like San Francisco that harbor such individuals.
Sessions and others in Alabama’s congressional delegation have fought the Obama Administration’s effort to resettle refugees and immigrants in the Yellowhammer State. A Sessions-led Senate committee recently estimated Mrs. Clinton’s refugee resettlement plan would cost upwards of $400 billion.
Although Sessions did not mention Republican presidential nominee Donald J. Trump by name in his statement on Wednesday, he alluded to the need for a strong leader to adhere to the rule of law with regard to immigration, a key component of the billionaire businessman’s campaign.
“What is needed now, more than ever, is strong, decisive leadership and a commitment to the execution of the laws on the books to convey the clear message to the world that if you come to the U.S. illegally, you will be removed,” he said.
Click here for Sessions’ full statement.
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