TOPLINE POINTS
- Even without Congress acting, there are enough current laws to secure the border, end human trafficking, and defeat the cartels.
- Previous policies like Remain in Mexico, Asylum Cooperative Agreements, and Title 42, when fully leveraged, deterred illegal immigration by denying them entry into the U.S.
- Expanding expedited removal and imposing visa sanctions are additional tools to disrupt the smuggling and trafficking networks.
An overused trope by many politicians and the media is that our immigration system is “broken.” Those who make this assertion rarely identify with specificity what precisely is broken or offer solutions to fix the immigration system. Instead, “broken immigration system” is largely understood to be a catchphrase that necessitates providing amnesty to millions of illegal aliens in the country and sometimes also increasing legal immigration beyond the current 1 million lawful permanent residents our country welcomes every year under current law. In the midst of an ongoing historic border crisis that dates to President Biden’s inauguration, his administration similarly lays blame on our current laws rather than his administration’s policies as the source of the problem. For example, in September 2021, Department of Homeland Security Secretary (DHS) Alejandro Mayorkas said, “we are dealing with a broken immigration system, and we need legislative reform.”
While there are various immigration laws that need revising and new laws that need passing to modernize the immigration system, there are laws currently on the books that provide any administration with the authority and ability to secure the border, end human trafficking, and defeat the cartels. The following playbook details the laws available for the Executive Branch to utilize to protect the homeland in the absence of congressional action.
