U.S. lawmakers weigh in on end of Title 42, Biden’s border policies: ‘We NEED to do SOMETHING’
Hours prior to the expiration of Title 42, GOP lawmakers weighed in on whether the emergency border provision instituted by the Trump administration, or similar policies, should be codified into law or rejected.
Only hours prior to the expiration of Title 42, Democrat Party and GOP lawmakers weighed in on whether the emergency border provision instituted by the Trump administration, or similar policies, should be codified into law or rejected.
Democrat lawmakers including Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., and Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee expressed no support for codifying the health policy, while Republican lawmakers like Reps. Chip Roy, R-Texas, and John Rose, R-Tenn., argued that strong border defense provisions like Title 42 should be put in place legally to protect the country from being inundated with illegal immigrants.
"We need to do something to secure the border," Rep. Mark Alford, R-Mo, urged.
Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, speaks to Fox News Digital about the end of emergency border protocol "Title 42." (Fox News)
Fox News spoke to these lawmakers Thursday to get their opinions on what should be done to protect the border ahead of the expiration date, asking them whether they believe Congress should "codify Title 42" or not.
The pressure of the current border crisis has been boiling over in the lead up and aftermath of the Trump era provision that ended at midnight on Thursday. The emergency public health order allowed for the rapid expulsion of migrants at the southern border due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Knowledge of the order’s expulsion has apparently fueled a migrant surge at the border, with immigrants arriving there hopeful that they’ll have a better chance of entering the country now.
Fox News Digital reported Friday, "In the days leading up to the order's end, agents have been encountering historic levels of over 10,000 migrants a day – with authorities already preparing for releases of migrants without court dates onto the streets."
Even President Joe Biden has acknowledged the chaos that would ensue once Title 42 ended. "It’s going to be chaotic for a while," he claimed on Tuesday.
When asked if they would codify Title 42, Republican lawmakers told Fox Thursday they would, or, at the very least, seek similarly stiff border laws going forward.
Rep. John Rose, R-Tenn., agreed he’d like to see Title 42 codified into law, telling Fox News Digital, "Yeah, I think so."
He continued, "Obviously, what we need is for the president to enforce the laws that we have and telegraph in a serious way that you can’t just walk into this country. We’ve got to end Catch and Release and the administration ought to be looking for every policy tool available to make sure that when you want to come to this country, you have to meet the standards."
The lawmaker added, "You can’t get in and then avoid a future hearing on whether or not you should be here."
A U.S. Border Patrol agent checks for identification of immigrants as they wait to be processed by the U.S. Border Patrol after crossing the border from Mexico on December 30, 2022 in Yuma, Arizona. (Qian Weizhong/VCG via Getty Images)
Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, disputed the relevance of the question, saying, "That question is kind of moot to a degree, codifying Title 42 – Title 42 exists. It exists for health code reasons."
Mentioning H.R. 2 or the "Secure the Border Act of 2023" (which just passed in the House,) he said, "What we need to do is what we’re doing in this bill which is, increase authority for the Secretary. We’re doing that to turn away for whatever’s necessary to have operational control of the border, but also then require the administration to do their job, which to say that we’re not going to release people into the United States."
Rep. Ann Wagner’s R-Mo., went further than Title 42, saying she wants to return to Trump’s "Remain in Mexico" policy. She told the outlet, "Well what I would like to see is the Remain in Mexico provisions put back in that were so successful during the Trump administration."
The lawmaker added, "I think the Remain in Mexico provisions are very important along with the ACA (Asylum Cooperative Agreement,) which has to do with the asylum seekers that are traversing through multiple countries. And we had that also in place during the Trump administration with the Northern Triangle countries."
Wagner claimed she would love to see these provisions codified with the passing of the Secure the Border Act.
Migrant Crossings At Southern Border Increase As Title 42 Policy Expires MATAMOROS, MEXICO - MAY 11: Migrants walk into the Rio Grande from the bank of the river as they cross to enter the United States on May 11, 2023 in Matamoros, Mexico. A surge of migrants is expected with the end of the U.S. government's Covid-era Title 42 policy, which for the past three years has allowed for the quick expulsion of irregular migrants entering the country. (Joe Raedle)
Rep. Alford replied to Fox, saying, "We need to do something to secure the border. This administration has not had the grit to do something to secure the border. More than six million illegal aliens have come into our country, and it is unacceptable that with a wink and a nod this president has welcomed them in."
He added, "We’re going to secure the border, we’re going to finish the wall, we’re going to reinstitute Remain in Mexico and we’re going to tighten up the asylum process."
Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., simply said "Yes" to codifying Title 42.
The two Democrat lawmakers Fox asked were less supportive of making the emergency provision a law. Rep. Connolly gave his one-word answer: "No."
Rep. Lee sidestepped the question, telling the outlet, "We have ways to be humane and many ways as well to have a secure border. But everyone with common sense knows that whatever happens with Title 42, we should not be denying Catholic charities the ability to do its mission by eliminating the opportunity for it to be funded when it is dealing with the crisis of humanity. That's wrong."
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The lawmaker continued, saying, "We cannot stop the agriculture industry with mandatory E-verify, and we cannot use separation of children and families as a remedy for stopping people to come over. The wall, we should know, the way it's built, where it is, when you're on that land, you have a right for asylum, because you're on U.S. land. And most people come through legal points of entry."
Fox News’ Cortney O’Brien contributed to this report.
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