One U.S. senator believes a provision in the recently passed $95 billion foreign aid spending package will “supercharge” mass migration from foreign countries.
Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) voiced strong opinions regarding the new U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) field offices that will be opened in Doha, Qatar, and Ankara, Turkey, as a result of the spending package. According to a USCIS press release, the purpose of the new offices would be to “increase capacity for refugee processing, strengthen strategic partnerships, and facilitate interagency cooperation.”
“Not only did the ‘Foreign Aid’ package do nothing to secure our own border it included $3.5 Billion to supercharge mass migration from the Middle East,” Schmitt posted on X.
The new field offices were announced on April 23, the same day the aid bill was passed by Congress.
“Opening these field offices establishes a USCIS presence and expertise in critical locations in the Middle East and is part of our commitment to the Biden-Harris administration’s efforts to facilitate safe, lawful, and orderly migration and family reunification,” said USCIS Director Ur M. Jaddou in the press release.
“Our presence in Qatar and Turkey expands USCIS’ footprint outside the United States, supports our humanitarian mission, and strengthens the integrity of the U.S. immigration system,” Jaddou added.
The statement lists Turkey and Qatar as “critical immigration hubs” that already have some processing capacities. The Biden administration has set a benchmark for immigration at 125,000 people for fiscal year 2024. The facilities will “support long-established and increasing USCIS refugee processing circuit rides,” per the press release.
The rising number of Muslim families in the United States in recent years has purportedly contributed to the swelling anti-Israel protests on college campuses across the nation in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war, per The Washington Post.
From the 1970s through the 1990s, Muslim migrants tended to cluster in just a few places, but newer migrants have come to areas such as the South and the Midwest in search of jobs and affordable living.
The Muslim population in the United States is younger than the national average age, with many second-generation Muslims being of high school and college age, WP reported. Such individuals have reportedly been more comfortable protesting than previous generations, which has led to protests in places such as Alabama and Oklahoma.
The new USCIS offices will bring the agency’s global office count to 11 facilities that help facilitate the migration of foreign nationals from dozens of nations, including China, Cuba, El Salvador, and more, to the United States.
The Doha field office is scheduled to open on May 7, and the Ankara field office on May 9.
