Currently, the CDC appears poised to repeal Title 42, which is a critically important measure that permits U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to deny entry to immigrants at the U.S.-Mexico border over COVID concerns.
As the CDC is ready to lift Title 42, which is widely acknowledged to be a move that will encourage a mass onslaught at the border, Senator Rick Scott of Florida would like to know exactly what the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) intends to do with regards to the new influx of individuals.
Scott, along with 13 other GOP senators, sent a letter to Mayorkas, demanding additional information on the DHS’s plans and preparations for stymieing the massive inflow of migrants to the Southern border after Title 42 is repealed.
“We understand that the CDC is potentially planning to lift its Title 42 public health policy, [which] enabled the immediate expulsion of immigrants caught illegally entering the United States during the [coronavirus] pandemic,” the senators write.
Adding that the Title 42 policy was “an effective deterrent to illegal border crossings,” the senators emphasized that the policy had generally eliminated the possibility of illegal aliens being allowed to move freely throughout the country as they awaited the outcome of their immigration proceedings.
The Republican senators’ letter also notes that various reports have surfaced regarding multiple thousands of migrants waiting just south of the U.S.-Mexico border, eagerly waiting for the CDC to rescind Title 42 and facilitate their easier entry into the nation.
“Obviously, this is a grave concern,” the senators continue, adding that the enormous influx of anticipated immigrants clearly “threatens to overwhelm our already strained immigration system,” which in turn “will only exacerbate a disastrous situation at our southern border.”
In general, various border authorities have been relying upon Title 42 in order to turn away illegal immigrants at the Southern border since March 2020, as the pandemic began to sweep through the world.
However, many advocates of immigration, coupled with numerous Democrats, have urged President Biden to terminate the Title 42 policy, insisting that Title 42 prevents illegal immigrants from making legitimate claims for asylum.
According to a Border Patrol union leader and three different CBP officials, it is widely expected that the CDC will not renew provisions of Title 42 once it expires on April 20.
This refusal to renew emerges even as a record-breaking 2 million encounters with illegal immigrants occurred in 2021, a number that may further balloon with the elimination of Title 42 protections for the nation.
