Brazilians are taking advantage of the U.S. asylum laws by exploiting the Biden administration’s Remain in Mexico policy, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told Newsmax Monday.
"I saw a 1300 percent increase in illegal immigrant apprehensions in the Yuma sector since last October. In all of 2020, 8,000 people were seized coming across the border. As of October of this year, 114,000. None of them virtually from Mexico or the northern triangle countries," Graham said during an appearance on Newsmax TV’s "Eric Bolling: The Balance."
"The Border Patrol is under siege in Arizona and the administration has no plan to change things. I saw another 9/11 in the making but here’s what pissed me off the most: 46,000 people have come from Brazil this year, they get a tourist visa to fly into Mexico from Brazil, spend a couple of days enjoying themselves, rent a car, take a bus, drive up to our border, take their luggage out, walk up to a border patrol agent and ask for asylum.
"I saw dozens of Brazilians dressed very nicely; their luggage was nicer than mine," he added.
"These are middle, upper middle-class people taking advantage of our asylum laws. Our Border Patrol agents are becoming like hotel clerks. The Brazilian government needs to up their game. We try to send people back and they won’t take their own citizens in Brazil."
Graham visited the border in Arizona, where he said he saw the problems firsthand.
"How do you go from 8,000 to 114,000 in a year? You do away with the Remain in Mexico policy that Trump instituted. During the Trump years, if you came and asked for asylum, we would make you wait in Mexico and you would have to wait 4-5 years until your court date. Well, nobody is going to spend a bunch of money coming to wait in Mexico for 5 years, so all the asylum claims kind of went away.
"The first thing Biden did was cancel the Remain in Mexico policy. It led to a surge, and we are being overwhelmed up and down the border … The people in Brazil are gaming the system. The Brazilian government won’t take their own citizens back unless they are vaccinated or have a negative COVID test and this needs to stop."
Note: See Newsmax TV now carried in more than 100 million U.S. homes, on DirecTV Ch. 349, Dish Network Ch. 216, Xfinity Ch. 1115, Spectrum, U-verse Ch. 1220, FiOS Ch. 615, Frontier Ch. 115, Optimum Ch. 102, Cox cable, Suddenlink Ch. 102, Mediacom Ch. 277, AT&T TV Ch 349, FUBO and major OTT platforms like Roku, YouTube, Xumo, Pluto and most smart TV’s including Samsung+, Sony, LG, Vizio and more – Find All Systems that Carry Newsmax – Click Here