(Tony Sifert, Headline USA) Vulnerable red-state Democrats are furious with President Joe Biden’s decision to terminate a Trump-era rule allowing the expulsion of illegal aliens at the border in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19, according to the Associated Press.
In what Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., called a “frightening decision,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that it would terminate, effective May 23, 42 U.S. Code § 265, known as Title 42, which allows the Surgeon General to prohibit entry to the United States where “there is serious danger of the introduction of . . . disease into the United States.”
“After considering current public health conditions and an increased availability of tools to fight COVID-19 . . . the CDC Director has determined that an Order suspending the right to introduce migrants into the United States is no longer necessary,” the CDC wrote in a press release.
The decision has led several Democrats who are facing re-election fights — Sen. Mark Kelly (Ariz.), Sen. Maggie Hassan (New Hampshire), and Reps. Henry Cuellar and Vicente Gonzalez (Texas), among others — to publicly express their concern.
“This is a crisis, and in my estimation, because of a lack of planning from the administration, it’s about to get worse,” Kelly said.
Kelly and fellow-Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema sent a letter to Biden last week in which they attacked the president for failing to communicate “a sufficient plan to maintain a humane and orderly process [at the border] in the event of an end to Title 42.”
Hassan sounded the similar warning in a tweet Friday.
Ending Title 42 prematurely will likely lead to a migrant surge that the administration does not appear to be ready for. I’ll keep pushing the administration to strengthen border security & look forward to hearing directly from border agents during my upcoming trip to the border.
— Sen. Maggie Hassan (@SenatorHassan) April 1, 2022
“Ending Title 42 prematurely will likely lead to a migrant surge that the administration does not appear to be ready for,” Hassan wrote.
Cuellar blamed “vocal” pro-illegal immigration activists for the administration’s decision.
“I did tell the White House, you understand that there will be vulnerable Democrats,” Cuellar said. “But I think the White House has been under tremendous pressure by the immigration activists.”
White House Director of Communications Kate Bedingfield attempted to do damage control in advance of the CDC’s announcement, claiming that “most individuals who cross the border without legal authorization will be promptly placed into removal proceedings.”
