On December 5, we reported that the state of Texas was making plans for the expected cessation on December 21 of Title 42–the CDC program that permits immediate return of (at least some) illegals to Mexico–but that the White House seemed lost in a kind of demented daze.
Now, four days later and four days closer to 42’s end, it seems the administration has roused itself and done what it does best: ask Congress for more money.
Three senior officials with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have told NBC News that the White House, in response to a DHS request, has passed along a request to Congress for an additional $3 billion to deal with the imminent close of the Title 42 program.
Before you imagine that perhaps, finally, Old Joe might do something about the invasion of our southern border, forget about it. NBC News approvingly notes the following:
And when the ban ends, instead of being sent back across the border, more migrants will have the chance to stay in the U.S. and claim asylum. The extra money is needed to process, shelter and transport them. [Emphasis added]
So, the extra three billion are there, in other words, to make life easier and more comfortable for the world’s excess as they continue to stream into our country in ever-increasing numbers.
The NBC report closes with an unusually candid observation from one of the anonymous DHSers, which exemplifies the cynicism pervading our national government:
A senior DHS official told NBC News it could be the perfect time to lift Title 42, because southern border migration is typically at its lowest around the holidays. In addition, Republicans who campaigned on platforms of tighter border security have wrapped their midterm campaigns, and the 2024 presidential election is nearly two years away, so chaos at the border is less likely to hurt Biden and Democrats at the polls than it would if Title 42 lifted closer to an election, the official said. [Emphasis added]
That’s the message, America: “Chaos at the border” is all well and good, so long as the pols of neither party are affected.
For more, see NBC News.