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Democrats in Congress racked up a handful of legislative wins before departing Washington for the August recess, but Republicans say lawmakers skipped town without attempting to resolve, or acknowledge, the border crisis.

Senators left Capitol Hill in early August while the House is preparing for a final vote on an anti-inflation bill that may give them a leg up ahead of the midterm elections in November. Other legislative wins in recent weeks include the CHIPS Act to boost competition with Chinese chipmakers; the PACT Act, which expands healthcare and benefits to veterans who were exposed to burn pits; and reforms to gun laws.

Republicans accused Democrats of ignoring the national security and humanitarian situation at the U.S.-Mexico boundary, where more people have been encountered attempting to enter the country illegally over the past year than any other time in the Border Patrol's 98-year existence.

"Democrats aren't doing anything because the border is exactly the way they want it. This is all by design and has been since last January," said Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), who frequently leads congressional delegation tours to the border.

U.S. WILL ADMIT MIGRANTS FORCED TO REMAIN IN MEXICO THROUGH ASYLUM PROCESS

The Democratic Party is divided at the moment over what to do with the border crisis. Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser and New York City Mayor Eric Adams called on the federal government to help receive 100 migrants being dropped off in their cities each day by buses running from Arizona and Texas. But in Congress, other Democrats are still focused on legalization efforts for millions of undocumented immigrants in the country, with more illegal immigrants being released from the border into the country every day.

Republicans had attempted to include amendments in the climate change bill as it went through the Senate over the weekend, but Democrats successfully blocked their attempts to keep in place a pandemic-related protocol that allowed illegal immigrants to be immediately turned back to Mexico.

Congress has been stalled for several years on immigration reform in general, including on what to do with an Obama-era program that protected hundreds of thousands of children who were brought to the U.S. illegally but has been challenged in federal court.

Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (IL), a Democrat who was part of the bipartisan Gang of Eight in 2013 to overhaul immigration laws, has led efforts to provide a pathway to citizenship to some illegal immigrants, introducing the Dream Act in April 2021 with Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC). Others, like the Center for American Progress, want Congress to go further and legalize the 10 million to 12 million illegal immigrants residing nationwide.

President Joe Biden has avoided addressing the border crisis and instead pushed forward on ending Trump-era immigration policies over the past 18 months in office.

On Monday, the Biden administration moved again to end a Trump-era border initiative that had forced migrants seeking asylum to remain in Mexico through court proceedings. While Bidens party has reversed a plethora of his predecessor's immigration policies, Rep. John Katko (R-NY), the top Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee, said there is no action from Congress or the White House to address the revolving door for illegal migration into the country.

Despite a record number of illegal border crossings, including encounters with known or suspected terrorists, the Biden administration continues to abandon any attempt to secure the Southwest border, Katko said in a statement Tuesday. The Biden administrations only plan to address the crisis at the Southwest border is to release migrants into communities across the U.S."

Since Biden took office, the Border Patrol has heavily relied on a procedure that Republicans call "catch and release" for how federal agents apprehend illegal immigrants, process them, then release many into the interior of the country to face immigration removal proceedings years down the road. The government does not immediately reveal how many claim asylum while in custody, though doing so is not required to be let go and allowed into the United States.

Under the Biden administration, border officials have chosen to release more than 1 million people into the country of the 3 million who were encountered trying to enter without permission.

Despite record-breaking activity by the cartels in my district, this administration and Democrats in Congress have turned their back on our border communities," said Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX), whose district includes 800 miles of borderland.

Because migration demographics have shifted during the coronavirus pandemic, more people from countries beyond Central America and Mexico have arrived and, in some cases, cannot be sent back to their home country. It has forced the Biden administration to release certain nationalities of people, including Venezuelans, Cubans, and Nicaraguans, into border communities. Migrants typically travel to other parts of the country where they have friends or family rather than stay in border towns.

Texas and Arizona this spring began using state-funded buses to alleviate some of the demand on airports and bus stations in border towns by offering free rides to New York City and Washington, D.C. Democratic mayors from both northeastern cities recently asked for emergency military assistance to deal with the arriving migrants.

A House Democratic leadership aide told the Washington Examiner that the omnibus legislation passed in March and a more recent Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill for fiscal 2023 included more funding than the president had requested.

Some of the extra funding was put toward programs that prevent illegal immigrants from being detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and track them through digital means once they are released from custody. Nearly $200 million went toward technology at the ports of entry and areas where the Border Patrol works. Another $230 million in the DHS funding bill was solely for the medical care of illegal immigrants in Border Patrol custody.

Roy, whose district is between San Antonio and Austin, does not expect the Biden administration to take action despite its vows to reform the asylum system or take other action to deter illegal migration.

"This invasion won't stop until congressional Republicans make it stop," Roy said.

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"As Democrats focus on increasing taxes, hurting American energy producers, and worsening inflation through reckless spending, Republicans are focused on securing our southern border," Gonzales added.

Last month, House Republicans rolled out a comprehensive plan to respond to the situation at the southern border.

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Democrats score legislative wins ahead of August recess but punt on border crisis - Washington Examiner