Press Releases

Washington, DC—November 4, 2021....Congressman Steve Womack (AR-3) today joined lawmakers in urging Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to take action in advance of the 3,000 migrants that will reach our Southern Border in the coming weeks.

The members note their serious concerns about the preparation strategy for the incoming migrant caravan, pointing to recent security failures when 10,000 migrants flooded Del Rio, Texas. They also called for answers to the following questions:

1. What has DHS done to prepare for this caravan, including diplomatic efforts with Central American countries to stop it as it gains momentum?
2. How is DHS collecting, receiving, and sharing intelligence on this caravan through the interagency process to ensure malign actors are not making their way to—and into the United States?
3. How are these actions different from the actions taken in Del Rio?
4. Will DHS expel migrants encountered at the border using Title 42?
5. What are DHS' plans to process and deport migrants who cannot be expelled under Title 42 and do not have a legal basis to remain in the U.S.?

In the past year alone, U.S. Border Patrol has recorded nearly 1.7 million migrant apprehensions at the southern border, which is the highest number of illegal crossings in history. If the Administration does not begin to appropriately respond to these caravans and the ongoing border crisis, these surges will surely continue.  In fact, it’s reported organizers made migrants who wished to participate in the current caravan “register with a QR code on their phones or a web link to participate.” As this shows, the situation at our border is only getting worse.

 The full text of the letter can be found here.

Congressman Steve Womack (AR-3) has represented Arkansas’s Third Congressional District since 2011. He is a member of the House Appropriations Committee.

womack.house.gov

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