Will Title 42–the CDC program that has made possible immediate expulsion of illegal migrants entering from Mexico–be eliminated on May 23, as the administration insists?
Probably, but not without some pushback.
Title 42 was implemented during the Trump administration as a means of combatting the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. At its height resulting in the expulsion of more than 90 percent, the policy also proved effective in tamping down the numbers of illegals, healthy and otherwise, entering the U.S.
Joe Biden has opposed the policy all along, regarding it as more of a Trumpian anti-immigration scheme than a health and safety measure. Up until recently, however, he has deferred to the CDC’s desire to maintain it. That forbearance ended on April 1 when the formal announcement came down that the program would be discontinued May 23.
A surge of migrants is expected to ensue at that point, up to 100,000 per week by some estimates, enough to totally overwhelm all efforts at illegal containment. In addition, new variants and subvariants of the virus–such as BA.2 and XE–are popping up all over, suggesting Title 42 as a health measure may still be needed.
And so the pushback began. We reported here a couple of days ago that three states–Arizona, Louisiana and Missouri–have filed suit against the federal government to stop Title 42 from being scrapped. Now we learn that Republican lawmakers and some Democrats are refusing to vote on a $10 billion COVID relief bill to maintain funding for testing, therapeutics, and vaccines, unless an amendment reinstating 42 is included.
The fact that at least a few Democrats are joining with the Republicans in supporting Title 42 suggests the policy may some future beyond May 23. For example, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) said last week that “Prematurely ending Title 42 without a comprehensive, workable plan would put at risk the health and safety of Arizona communities and migrants.” For his part, sometime-maverick Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) called the move “frightening” and said:
Title 42 has been an essential tool in combating the spread of COVID-19 and controlling the influx of migrants at our southern border. We are already facing an unprecedented increase in migrants this year, and that will only get worse if the Administration ends the Title 42 policy. We are nowhere near prepared to deal with that influx.
Of course, Joe Biden does feel prepared to deal with the influx. He merely plans to expedite the migrants’ entry into the U.S. by hiring more buses.
For more, see the NY Post.