Sen. Jeff Sessions: Obama Program ‘Establishes a New System of Immigration’

The Obama administration has created a new immigration path to the U.S. without Congressional approval, Sen. Jeff Sessions says. The Alabama Republican chaired a hearing looking into the Obama administration’s new program to fly Central Americans as refugees and asylees to the U.S.

USCIS Associate Director For Refugee, Asylum And International Operations Joseph Langlois confirmed that illegal immigrants granted executive amnesty would be eligible to apply to have their relatives flown to the U.S. from El Salvador, Honduras, or Guatemala under the administration’s Central American Minors Refugee/Parole Program.

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Sessions, the subcommittee’s chairman, pointed out that the Obama administration is moving forward with the program without Congresses approval.

“I just want to say, Congress rejected this. So the President is executing it on his own,” Sessions  said.

“It’s a new program and in fact, in effect establishes a new system of immigration to the United States,” he added.

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State Department official Simon Henshaw testified that, to date, they have received 565 applications: 439 from El Salvador, 114 Honduras, 12 Guatemala and that they are currently being proceed.

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