Washington, May 20 : US Vice President JD Vance accused the previous Biden administration of allowing widespread abuse of the American asylum system and said the Trump administration was prosecuting immigration-related fraud while tightening border enforcement.

Vance told reporters at a White House news conference that one of the â??biggest immigration fraudsâ?? under former President Joe Biden was the handling of asylum claims at the southern border.

â??The biggest immigration fraud that existed under the Biden administration, it's not just that they let a flood of people across the southern border,â?? Vance said. â??But it's also that they allowed the asylum and refugee claimant process to become totally fraudulent.â??

Vance claimed that many migrants entering the United States had falsely presented themselves as asylum seekers in order to gain entry and receive work permits.

â??You would take a person who, in normal cases, would just be a traditional economic immigrant,â?? he said. â??They would come into the country and say that they were fleeing persecution.â??

According to Vance, the previous administration then released many of those migrants into the interior of the country while they awaited immigration hearings that could take years.

â??Here's a work permit. Maybe come back in 10 or 12 years for your hearing on whether you actually have a legitimate asylum claim,â?? he said.

The Vice President argued that the process effectively amounted to â??amnestyâ?? and said the system failed to adequately screen migrants entering the country.

â??What if that person was a criminal? What if that person actually had a violent history?â?? he asked. â??We didn't do any of the work necessary to ensure that the people coming into our country claiming to be asylum claimants actually had anything legitimate or anything good in their background.â??

Vance said the Trump administration had now â??fixedâ?? the loophole and was investigating individuals who allegedly exploited the asylum process.

â??It is something that we have fixed in the Trump administration,â?? he said. â??Weâ??re very focused on in the fraud task force, is making sure that the people who exploited that loophole are actually prosecuted for it.â??

The Vice President also linked illegal immigration to broader economic and cultural concerns in the US and Europe.

â??One of the problems that we have in all of Western societies is that we have a lot of people who've decided â?? Wall Street bankers, corporate lobbyists, and government officials â?? that what the United States and what the West need is more and more cheap labour,â?? he said.

â??What we believe in this White House is what we need more and more of is high wages for American workers and investing in our own people,â?? Vance added.

Commenting on anti-immigration protests in the United Kingdom, Vance defended tighter border controls and said Western nations had the right to protect their identity and labour markets.

â??Itâ??s okay to wanna defend your culture. Itâ??s okay to wanna live in a safe neighbourhood,â?? he said. â??It is reasonable for the people in western societies to want to control who comes into their country and who doesnâ??t.â??

Vance also reiterated his opposition to broad immigration amnesty proposals being debated in Congress.

â??I donâ??t like giving amnesty to anybody,â?? he said when asked about legislation that would provide work visas to undocumented immigrants.

/IANS