Jefferson Reporter

The Senate has passed the Southern Border Transparency Act, a piece of legislation sponsored by U.S. Senator Katie Britt (R-Ala.) and Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas). The bill mandates the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to provide detailed reports on how migrants encountered at the border are being managed, ensuring public access to data on the number of migrants released into the United States by the Biden Administration.

“I am committed to securing our southern border and addressing the crisis President Biden and Vice President Harris created,” said Senator Britt. “The Southern Border Transparency Act will ensure the American people know just how many individuals the Biden-Harris Administration is unlawfully letting into America’s interior. While I’m thankful this bill passed, there is just one of several actions Congress should take to combat the Biden-Harris border crisis. I will continue fighting for the consideration and passage of other commonsense bills, like the WALL Act and Laken Riley Act.”

Senator Cornyn added, “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.”

Recently, Senator Britt led a group of Senate Republicans in urging passage of four critical pieces of legislation, including her own WALL Act and another measure co-introduced with Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah), known as the Stopping Border Surges Act. However, these efforts were blocked by Democrats.

Background information indicates that under current policies, migrants are often funneled into parole programs or other mechanisms leading to their release within U.S. borders. These include specific programs for Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan, and Venezuelan nationals, as well as an expanded Central American Minors program now encompassing adults. There is limited public data available regarding these releases or whether these individuals eventually leave the United States.

The Southern Border Transparency Act aims to address this gap by requiring DHS to fully report on its handling of migrants at the border.

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