House Republicans request info from DHS on number of Russians entering US via southern border

FIRST ON FOX: 20 Home Republicans on Friday wrote to the Division of Homeland Safety requesting data on the variety of Russians coming into the U.S. by way of the southern border.

The Republicans, led by Home Border Safety Caucus co-chair Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., wrote to Homeland Safety Alejandro Mayorkas informing him that “we’ve been made conscious of a rise in unlawful aliens from Russia illegally coming into the USA.”

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“Given the Biden administration’s catch and launch insurance policies, we’ve critical issues that Russians illegally coming into the USA will merely be launched into the inside with minimal vetting,” they are saying within the letter.

“Releasing unlawful aliens into our communities is a major nationwide safety menace,” they add.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has sparked a refugee disaster, primarily from Ukraine, the place hundreds of thousands have fled the violence into Europe, and has elevated tensions dramatically between Washington and Moscow. A few of these displaced by the disaster have made the journey to the U.S., the place many have kin — and have sought to enter by way of the southern border.

In February, 769 Russian migrants had been encountered on the border in February, up from 72 in February 2021, based on Customs and Border Safety (CBP) information. That quantity has gone down since December, nevertheless, when 2,105 had been encountered then — considerably larger than the 53 encountered in Dec. 2021. The numbers for March, when Russia invaded Ukraine, are but to be launched by CBP

The Wall Road Journal reported that some 30,111 Russians entered Mexico in January and February, in contrast with a median of 12,380 in every of the previous 5 years. The Journal reported that almost all coming into the U.S. are handing themselves in at ports of entry somewhat than making an attempt to evade Border Patrol brokers. A number of stories have detailed how a minimum of a few of these fleeing Russia are anti-Putin dissidents.

ICE has suspended deportation flights to Russia, Ukraine and different international locations within the area amid the continuing instability.

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DHS just lately prolonged non permanent protected standing (TPS) to Ukrainians, and has additionally issued a memo telling Border Patrol to contemplate Ukrainians for exemptions to TItle 42 expulsions — however has not made comparable strikes for Russian nationals.

Within the letter, the Republicans ask if there have been any extra vetting procedures for Russian nationals, what number of have been encountered and what number of have been detained – in addition to the variety of these launched or paroled into the USA, and the variety of these deported from the U.S.

It marks the newest occasion of Republican-led oversight of the disaster on the southern border, the place Republicans have been pinning the blame for an ever-deteriorating migrant disaster on the insurance policies of the Biden administration. The administration says it’s getting ready for a rise in migrants within the coming months, simply as it’s contemplating ending Title 42 public well being protections.