Great Lakes Wire

Mike Rogers, U.S. Senate Candidate in Michigan, stated that Vice President Kamala Harris and his opponent, Elissa Slotkin, are "embracing amnesty" for illegal immigrants while he would secure the border and make American communities safe. Rogers gave his statement to the Great Lakes Wire on August 27.

"Harris and Slotkin opened our borders to violent criminals, members of the terrorist watch list, and deadly fentanyl that's killing 3,000 Michiganders every single year," said Rogers. "Instead of securing our border, Harris and Slotkin are embracing amnesty and continue to perpetuate the border crisis they created. Not on my watch. I'll secure the border on day one and ensure our kids and communities are safe once again."

The Biden-Harris administration launched the "Keeping Families Together" program, which allows an estimated 500,000 noncitizen spouses and 50,000 stepchildren of U.S. citizens to be eligible for parole. According to Fox News, this has sparked criticism that it constitutes an unauthorized amnesty. "This is a massive amnesty that Congress never authorized," Andrew Arthur, resident fellow in law and policy at the Center for Immigration Studies, told Fox News Digital. The program requires applicants to have been in the U.S. for at least ten years without legal admission, with no serious criminal history, and to pass a background check.

In June, the Biden-Harris administration announced executive actions to keep mixed-status families together. According to the White House, this allows non-citizen spouses and children of U.S. citizens to apply for permanent residence without leaving the country, affecting approximately 550,000 people. Additionally, the administration is easing the visa process for U.S. college graduates, including Dreamers.

According to a press release from the House Homeland Security Committee, this action gives migrant spouses of U.S. citizens "parole-in-place," which was originally used only on a case-by-case basis but will now enable U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to release migrants into the interior. Chairman Green said illegal migrants will await hearings and green cards while living in the United States, which is "a blatant slap in the face to those who have entered the United States through lawful means."

Michigan experienced a record number of illicit fentanyl seizures as reported by the Detroit Free Press. The Detroit Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) confiscated 1,168 pounds of fentanyl in 2023, up 70% from the prior year. Nationally, the DEA confiscated a record amount of fentanyl in 2023—more than 386 million deadly doses. Fentanyl is currently the leading cause of death for Americans between ages 18 and 45.

According to his website, Rogers was born and raised in Livingston County, Michigan. He served as a lieutenant in the United States Army and then as a Special Agent in the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). He first ran for public office in 1994 and was elected to the Michigan state legislature.