(Headline USA) Biden administration officials are reportedly concerned that repealing a Trump-era immigration policy implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic could trigger another “mass migration event.”
The policy, called Title 42, was rolled out in March 2020 and allowed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to deny the admission of goods and people who pose a risk of spreading a communicable disease. Since then, immigration officials have expelled people 1.6 million times, with some migrants being turned away more than once.
Leftists have been pushing President Joe Biden to repeal the policy, alleging that it is discriminatory. Though it is not clear whether the Biden administration will repeal it, officials have said they intend to meet with Mexico to discuss the matter in April.
If they do repeal the policy, immigration officials warned thousands of migrants would flood the southern border. More than 25,000 migrants are already waiting just south of the U.S.-Mexico border for an opportunity to enter, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
DHS officials said they are specifically concerned that Mexican drug cartels will take advantage of the looser policies to push as many people into the country as possible.
The agency has also started asking employees from non-immigration agencies to volunteer for its “surge force,” made up of federal personnel willing to help at the border if need be.
The White House, however, has dismissed DHS’s concerns, claiming they have already set up a system that brings all federal agencies under one roof to respond to another immigration crisis.
“Of course the Administration is doing our due diligence to prepare for potential changes at the border,” White House spokesman Vedant Patel told Axios.
“As always is the case this Administration is working every day to provide relief to immigrants, restore order, fairness, and humanity to our immigration system and bring it into the 21st century,” Patel added.
