Blackburn, GOP colleagues disapprove of Biden’s ‘pathways rule’ for migrants

U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) recently signed on as the lead original cosponsor of a joint resolution disapproving of the final Circumvention of Lawful Pathways rule submitted by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the Executive Officer for Immigration Review.

“Under Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, every town has turned into a border town,” Sen. Blackburn said in an Aug. 17 statement. “President Biden’s Circumvention of Lawful Pathways rule is just another example of this administration’s failure to address the worsening crisis at our southern border. We cannot allow more migrants with non-existent asylum claims to enter our country.”

The Biden administration’s Circumvention of Lawful Pathways rule, which went into effect on May 11, funnels migrants into one of three “lawful” pathways, including joining the administration’s parole programs; using the administration’s CBP One mobile app, through which migrants can make appointments to enter at land ports of entry where they may be paroled into the interior and given work authorizations; or seeking asylum at any place or time after having been denied asylum in a third country, according to a summary provided by Sen. Blackburn’s staff.

However, the rule is an “unserious attempt” at resolving the border crisis and is full of loopholes that the cartels could easily exploit to continue moving unlawful migrants into the United States and overwhelm the U.S. Border Patrol, according to U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), who on July 27 sponsored Senate Joint Resolution 41.

Sen. Blackburn led six other original cosponsors in introducing the resolution, including U.S. Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT).

If enacted, the joint resolution would deem that the final rule has no force or effect, according to the text of the resolution, which has been referred for consideration to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee.