Democratic lawmakers acknowledged Tuesday that the U.S. immigration system is overwhelmed with asylum seekers who don’t actually qualify for asylum.

California Democratic Rep. Zoe Lofgren speaks before the House Judiciary Committee. hearinghas publicly acknowledged that most migrants seeking asylum lose their cases in immigration courts and argued that detention centers are too underfunded to handle the large number of migrants entering the country. Her remarks came as President Donald Trump is pushing hard border policies to limit illegal immigration into the country. (Related: Eric Adams tells Tucker Carlson how Biden and his staff coached him to ‘be a good Democrat’ on immigration)

“I think it’s worth noting that the system is overwhelmed and the vast majority of people who seek asylum in immigration courts lose their asylum cases,” Lofgren said. ” he said. Committee hearing.

Additionally, California lawmakers pointed out that all aliens on U.S. soil, regardless of immigration status, have the right to apply for asylum under U.S. law, and that immigrants are responding to this law in too large a wave. He added that it was destroying the immigration system. system.

“We have never provided enough funding to detain all asylum seekers, including during the first Trump administration. [the Biden administration] That’s not the case now,” Lofgren explained. “So I think we need to address this issue in addition to other elements of our immigration laws that are not working properly.”

The unprecedented border crisis sparked by the Biden-Harris administration has seen millions of illegal immigrants enter the United States at record levels and triggered a historic wave of asylum applications. A record total of 945,370 asylum applications were filed in 2023. According to A report released by the Department of Homeland Security in October.

The huge wave of applications has led to an ever-growing backlog. The number of pending immigration cases has soared to a new high of 3.6 million by the end of fiscal year 2024. According to Congressional Report.

A record number of illegal immigrants has also resulted in many asylum seekers being released into the interior of the United States because Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers are unable to hold more immigrants. Current criticism of laws like the Laken-Riley Act, which requires the detention of immigrants involved in theft-related crimes, is that detention centers do not have the space or funds to hold more illegal immigrants.

“Years later, I heard Congressman Lofgren announce that he supports the detention of all asylum seekers and agrees that most of them come seeking economic opportunity, not persecution. I’m really happy about that,” said Rosemary Jenks, policy director for Immigration Accountability. Project said in a statement provided to the Daily Caller News Foundation.

“It is very encouraging that Congressman Lofgren recognizes that our asylum system has been abused over the past four years and that more enforcement resources are desperately needed,” said R.J., director of the National Immigration Enforcement Center. Howman told DCNF. “Democrats must spend money and work with Republicans to change current law and create more detention beds.”

“The incalculable harm inflicted on the American people, our communities, and the very fabric of our nation must end,” Howman said.

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