This Issue: Several prominent Senate Democrats are criticizing Pres. Biden's plans to end Title 42. While helpful to put pressure on the Admin., the border crisis won't end unless they take action.
Fri,
Apr. 8th
A fault line is starting to show between Senate Democrats and the Biden Administration when it comes to lifting Title 42, a clause in U.S. law that allows the federal government to deny individuals entry into the United States if they may be carrying a contagious disease.
Title 42 has been used to immediately return illegal border crossers back to Mexico since the Trump Administration invoked it in March 2020 in response to a rapid increase in COVID cases.
Even proponents of ending the use of Title 42 at the southern border admit that it would cause the ongoing surge of illegal immigration -- now at a historic high -- to grow even larger. That some Democrats would be going on record opposing ending Title 42 is not surprising given the looming 2022 mid-term elections and the overwhelmingly unpopular open-border policies Pres. Biden has implemented since he took office.
NumbersUSA's Deputy Director Chris Chmielenski wrote in last week's newsletter about the Biden Administration's announcement that it would end the Title 42 on May 23. Chris pointed out that under Pres. Biden it has been applied mainly to single males, not to unaccompanied minors, or so-called Family Units. It is, however, being used to some effect.
It was reported that 55% of approximately 164,000 migrants "encountered" at the border in February were expelled under Title 42. Once that is lifted, it is likely that all illegal border crossers will be released into the United States. Leaked documents reveal that DHS is preparing "broadscale release mechanisms" once the revocation of Title 42 is effected.
Indications at the border are that more people are already coming since DHS made the announcement to lift Title 42 (Fox's national correspondent Bill Melugin has been doing great reporting at the border). Customs and Border Protection said last week that it expects to encounter as many as 18,000 illegal border crossers a day once Title 42 ends.
So far, six Democratic Senators have pushed back against the lifting of Title 42. Here they are (along with quotes they made while criticizing Pres. Biden's plans):
Kelly, Hassan, and Warnock are up for reelection in 2022, and Sinema and Manchin have made much of their moderate bona fides in order to appeal to purple state voters in their respective states. It will be interesting to see over the next few weeks how many other members of Congress speak out against ending Title 42, and whether this causes the Biden Admin. to reverse the decision.
Of course, politicians often say things they don't mean but what politicians say is important whether they mean it or not. In this case, it indicates that these Democratic Senators understand how unpopular Pres. Biden's border policies are and how that may hurt the party in the 2022 midterms and beyond.
Vulnerable Senators making public statements is not enough to end the border crisis, or to deal with the damage already done during DHS Secretary Mayorkas' tenure. Let those Senators know that you appreciate them speaking out against the open border polices of the Biden Administration, but tell them that is not enough.
There are bills that have been introduced in both chambers that would effectively end the border crisis.
- Rep. Andy Bigg's (R-Ari.) H.R.1901 and Sen. Mike Lee's (R-Utah) S.884 introduced bills to address asylum fraud.
- Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Cal.) and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) have introduced mandatory E-Verify bills into the House (H.R.78) and Senate (S.71) respectively
The effectiveness of Title 42 is being played up on all sides in Washington. Lifting it right now is a bad idea, but Title 42 is not preventing the floodgates from being opened. The floodgates have already been opened -- just not quite all the way. And the number of illegal border crossers prevented from entering the U.S. because of Title 42 is also misleading. How many who were denied entry under Title 42 keep trying to cross the border until they are able to successfully evade Border Patrol? We don't know but considering that an average of 2,000 illegal immigrants "got away" from Border Patrol agents last month, Title 42 is at best a stop gap measure.
Do those Democrats really oppose ending Title 42 because they truly want to secure the border? Kelly and Manchin have both said recently that they want a "comprehensive approach" to immigration reform, which, in D.C. parlance, means mass amnesty and major increases in annual immigration admissions. All of the Democrats listed above except for Sen. Warnock have cosponsored a bill along with six Republicans that would require a "detailed plan addressing potential migration influxes" before Title 42 is ended. Not one of the Democratic Senators speaking out has sponsored legislation that would stop the ongoing border crisis. This is not immigration reform.
But it is a good political sign, says NumbersUSA President Roy Beck:
"During the first 14 months of the Biden Administration, only a couple of congressional Democrats dared speak publicly against the ruling party orthodoxy that opposed nearly all immigration enforcement. That six Senators are speaking up now represents a major crack in anti-enforcement solidarity. It is an incredibly hopeful sign that pressure from constituents may loosen the tongues of other Democratic politicians who surely are uncomfortable with their party's open-borders ideology."
But let's not give the "moderate" Senate Democrats too much credit here. Arguing that the Administration should not lift Title 42 but also not insisting on a whole host of other things immediately at the President's disposal that will end the border crisis will only keep the status quo. Convincing Pres. Biden to reverse his decision to end Title 42 would send a powerful message but it won't secure the border or hold Sec. Mayorkas to account.
What Sinema, et. al., are doing is akin to the fire department showing up to a burning building and deciding that the approach to the problem of the raging inferno is not to throw more gasoline on it.
Praise Democrats who are speaking up for border security while urging urge them to take effective action. Any member of Congress who claims to be in favor of a more secure border needs to sign onto H.R.1901/S.884 and H.R.78/S.71. Go to your Action Board to send your Member of Congress a message.
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| Eric Ruark, Director of Research |
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