‘Chaos on top of a crisis’? Congress debates ending Title 42.

The border debate has taken on new urgency in Congress with the Biden administration’s decision to end a Trump-era deportation tool called Title 42.

Created at the start of the pandemic to allow border agents to quickly expel migrants on public health grounds, Title 42 has been used to thwart about half of attempted crossings between official ports of entry in recent months. On April 1, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced it would be lifted on May 23, although pending court action could delay that timeline.

Many Democrats believe it’s about time. “I wish it would have been done by the administration sooner,” said Sen. Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico. 

But some are now joining Republicans in asking that Title 42 be extended until the Department of Homeland Security is better prepared to handle the expected influx. DHS estimates daily migrant encounters – already at an unprecedented high – could rise from 7,800 to as many as 18,000 per day.

“We already have a crisis at the border,” said Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona, who’s up for reelection this fall. “I don’t want to see chaos on top of a crisis.” 

Washington

Some 1,700 miles away from the Rio Grande, where Spc. Bishop Evans drowned trying to save migrants crossing into the United States last week, members of Congress opened a Homeland Security hearing Wednesday by mourning his loss. 

But they disagreed about what his death symbolized. To Democrats, the Texas National Guard member’s sacrifice exemplified the humanity they’ve striven to restore after Trump-era immigration policies that Chairman Bennie Thompson called “a national disgrace.” To Republicans, it was a sign of how ineffective and imbalanced U.S. border policy has become, prioritizing the lives of migrants attempting to cross the border illegally over those tasked with securing it. 

The border debate has taken on new urgency with the Biden administration’s decision to end next month a Trump-era deportation tool called Title 42. Despite clear differences in how the parties view the issue, a number of Democrats – many facing tough reelection races – have joined Republicans in voicing concerns about the planned repeal. But while political forces may lead to a short-term fix, both sides agree that it is essentially punting on the larger problems of border security and immigration reform, which have eluded Congress for decades, even as the pressure on the border grows. 

Title 42 was created at the start of the pandemic to allow border agents to quickly expel migrants on public health grounds. It has been used to thwart about half of attempted crossings between official ports of entry in recent months. On April 1, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that Title 42 would be lifted on May 23, although pending court action could delay that timeline.

Without it, DHS is bracing for daily encounters – already at an unprecedented high – to rise from 7,800 to as many as 18,000 per day. That could mean more than a million unauthorized immigrants entering the country within the first two months. 

Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas found himself in the hot seat this week at several congressional hearings.

House Democrats praised him for his efforts to rebuild the department. But Rep. Michael Guest of Mississippi blamed the secretary for “the worst immigration crisis that our nation has ever seen” and said officials he’d met with on the border felt abandoned. “Are you testifying as you sit here today that the southwest border is secure?” the Republican asked.

“Yes, I am. And we are continuing to work to make it more secure,” said Secretary Mayorkas. He noted that the number of migrant encounters is higher than the number of unique individuals trying to cross, due to those making multiple attempts. And he defended the department’s handling of migrants as well as refugees, as the Ukraine war adds to global migration flows not seen since World War II.

“We are restoring our leadership as a country of refuge,” said Secretary Mayorkas, whose family fled to the U.S. from Cuba when he was young.

Public health as a fig leaf?

Many Democrats believe it’s about time Title 42 is repealed. “I wish it would have been done by the administration sooner. But nonetheless, I appreciate that effort,” said Sen. Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico. 

Critics of Title 42 argue that it used public health as a fig leaf for justifying more stringent border control measures. “There is no public health rationale that supports the unlawful and discriminatory blocking and expulsion of people at our southern border,” wrote the ACLU New Mexico in a September letter to Secretary Mayorkas, which outlined alternative measures to address public health concerns and was signed by nearly a dozen state legislators.

But some Democrats are now asking President Joe Biden to extend Title 42 until DHS is better prepared to handle the expected influx. Earlier this month, five Senate Democrats joined GOP colleagues in co-sponsoring a bill to delay the repeal until at least 60 days after the president ends the national public health emergency. A similar bill in the House has 11 Democratic co-sponsors. 

This week DHS sought to assuage concerns by releasing a memo outlining the preparations underway – increasing everything from the number of