Press Releases

Congresswoman Glenn Grothman (WI-06) joined 36 of his colleagues as an original cosponsor on the Upholding the Law at Our Border Act, a bill introduced by Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY) to ensure our immigration laws are being upheld at the Southern Border.

“In Joe Biden’s first year in the White House, it’s evident that Mexican drug cartels have more control over who is entering our country than Border Patrol agents,” said Grothman. “I have visited different sectors of the border several times this year, and each time agents voice their frustrations to me regarding the shortage of supplies needed to adequately combat the daily surge of migrants. The American people deserve to know how many illegal aliens remain in our country thanks to failed leadership and newly created incentives to break our immigration laws.” 

“Joe Biden’s failed policies have incentivized illegal immigration and created a crisis on our Southern Border,” Stefanik said. “Our communities are less safe because record numbers of illegal immigrants have smuggled thousands of pounds of fentanyl over our border, and we have no idea how many illegal aliens have been released into our country. The hardworking American people deserve to know how this administration is failing to uphold our immigration laws. We need an immediate investigation to hold the Biden Administration accountable.”

Currently, Americans have no idea how many illegal aliens have been released into the United States or in which communities they have been resettled. The Biden Administration is either deliberately keeping Americans uninformed or knowingly violating U.S. immigration laws at the expense of Americans’ safety.

Specifically, this bill would require the Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security to investigate the vetting and processing of migrants apprehended along the Southern Border and to submit a report to Congress with the findings, including:

• Vetting procedures of those apprehended along the Southern Border of the United States;
• Total number of illegal migrants who have been placed in removal proceedings, including how many have been removed and how many are eligible for immigrant benefits;
• Total number of illegal migrants who have been placed in expedited removal proceedings;
• Results of asylum applications;
• Results of parole applications;
• Efforts of the Department of Homeland Security to continually monitor all of the individuals who were apprehended along the southwest border of the United States and then released on parole;
• Total number of illegal migrants who were processed and released into the interior of the United States without participating in an alternative to the detention program; and
• States and counties in which the Department of Homeland Security or the Department of Health and Human Services has resettled illegal migrants since January 20, 2021.

"The American people deserve to know the extent to which the Biden administration has abandoned border security and immigration enforcement. The Upholding the Law at Our Border Act would trigger an investigation that is sure to reveal shocking practices and historic numbers, including the total number of illegal aliens released into the interior of the country. We applaud Congresswoman Stefanik's growing leadership on the immigration issue and urge all her colleagues to cosponsor,” said Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR).

“Set against the backdrop of continuing government restrictions due to COVID and an ongoing crisis at our Southern border, one would think that the federal government would have a vested interest in knowing exactly who is coming into our nation. However, instead of ensuring these individuals are properly vetted, the Biden Administration has turned a blind eye and released countless illegal immigrants into the interior with little afterthought. Thankfully, Rep. Stefanik is leading an effort to ensure the federal government is enforcing the full letter of the law and that they will be held to account for their lax enforcement of existing law,” said Garrett Bess, Vice President of Heritage Action.

This bill was led in the Senate by U.S. Senator Rick Scott (R-Florida).

Read full bill text here.

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U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-Glenbeulah) is serving his fourth term representing Wisconsin’s 6th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.