(Headline USA) House Republicans warned the Biden administration this week that tens of thousands of migrants will flood into the country every week if President Joe Biden moves forward in repealing Title 42.
The Biden administration announced last week that it plans to repeal Title 42, a public health order that allows border officials to immediately turn away migrants at the border, by the end of May.
Republicans argued against the reversal, saying it would worsen the border crisis that already exists.
“There is no longer a few border cities, every city in America is now a border city,” House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said at a press conference this week.
Rep. Debbie Lesko, R-Ariz., accused the Biden administration of wanting a “border totally to anybody and everybody from any country, all over the world: terrorists, rapists, criminals.”
There are already 8,000 migrants trying to cross the souther border illegally every day, said Rep. John Katko, R-N.Y. If Title 42 is repealed, that number could increase to 18,000 migrants per day.
“We have a very good chance because of what’s going on with this president’s policies of having a destabilized nation on our border,” Katko said. “This is a national security issue that’s going to get worse as time goes on this summer.”
That is exactly what the Biden administration wants, according to a leaked strategy from Department of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas. The February memo, titled “DHS Southwest Border Mass Irregular Migration Contingency Plan,” states that DHS’s “intent” is to ensure that as many migrants as possible “can apply for any form of relief or protection for which they may be eligible.”
To maximize the number of migrants who can apply for asylum, Mayorkas recommended minimizing detentions and deportations.
“Current pathways to removal [deportations] will be limited. Component use of broadscale release mechanisms (i.e., Own Recognizance (OR) with issuance of a Notice to Appear (NTA), or parole and Altematives to Detention (ATD) with administrative tools are necessary to ensure humane and efficient treatment of migrants,” the memo reads.
To avoid criticism for the disastrous consequences of these policies, Democrats are trying to make it seem like Republicans are responsible for the crisis.
“Most Americans think that you should pay a penalty, and there should be a pathway. And that’s not going to happen,” Democrat political consultant Cornell Belcher claimed this weekend.
“You know why it’s not going to happen? Because Republicans in Congress don’t want it to happen,” Belcher said.
However, a number of Democrats have also publicly criticized the Biden administration for its failed immigration policies, including Arizona Sens. Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Kelly.
“Prematurely ending Title 42 without a comprehensive, workable plan would put at risk the health and safety of Arizona communities and migrants,” Sinema said in a statement.
Kelly agreed: “This is the wrong decision. It’s unacceptable to end Title 42 without a plan and coordination in place to ensure secure, orderly, and humane process at the border.”
