Sherrod Brown signed a 2020 letter calling Title 42 a 'CDC asylum ban' but now wants to extend it

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Vulnerable Ohio Democrat Senator Sherrod Brown signed a 2020 Democrat letter condemning Title 42 as a "CDC asylum ban" — but now he wants to extend the order after its expiration Thursday night.

Brown signed onto a letter in 2020 with several congressional Democrats — including then-Senator Kamala Harris, D-Calif. — calling to overturn Title 42, which the Trump administration pushed to curb the influx of migrants amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

"CDC asylum ban: In March 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued an order 21 that permits DHS to summarily expel asylum-seekers, upending decades of congressionally mandated procedures and further endangering populations at risk of harm," the 2020 letter signed by dozens of Democrats read.

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Ohio Democrat Senator Sherrod Brown signed onto a letter with several congressional Democrats — including then-Senator Kamala Harris, D-Calif., — calling to overturn Title 42 amid the Trump administration’s 2020 push to curb the influx of migrants amid the COVID-19 pandemic. (Anna Moneymaker)

"The CDC order appears designed to further an ongoing agenda to exclude asylum seekers, in violation of Congress’ plain word and intent," the letter continued. "The UN Refugee Agency has stated clearly, in the context of COVID-19: ‘Denial of access to territory without safeguards to protect against refoulement cannot be justified on the grounds of any health risk.’"

"Leading epidemiologists and public health experts have condemned the new policy, stating that it ‘is based on specious justifications and fails to protect public health,’" the Democrats wrote. "Human rights and medical groups have developed measures for processing migrants at the border that both protect public health and preserve humanitarian protection."

For years, Title 42 was one of the main processes border officials used to expel migrants who crossed the border illegally.

Now that Biden has ended Title 42, and migrants flood the border, Brown wants to extend the order he once derided as a "CDC asylum ban."

Brown on Thursday signed onto a proposal spearheaded by centrist Senators Joe Manchin, D-W.V., and Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., that would extend the administration’s pandemic power to turn migrants away from the border for another two years.

In this aerial picture taken on May 11, 2023, people return to the Mexican side of the river after dropping off migrants on the U.S. side, across the Rio Grande, in Brownsville, Texas.  (ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)

"I don’t think you can get something comprehensive now, under the pressure of what’s happening at the border," Brown told Politico, noting that he’d like to see comprehensive immigration reform.

"It’s clear to me presidents of both parties have failed on this," Brown continued. "And we need to send more resources to the border."

"We need two more years to get this right," he added.

Ohio GOP Senate candidate Bernie Moreno told Fox News Digital that "Sherrod Brown is the worst type of hypocritical career politician."

"He has long been one of the most liberal members of the Senate, has voted in near lockstep with Biden and has regularly voted against securing the border and for amnesty," Moreno said. "But like a typical career politician, now that he’s up for re-election he’s trying to gaslight Ohioans into believing he’s some sort of moderate who supports securing the border."

Ohio GOP Senate candidate Bernie Moreno told Fox News Digital "Sherrod Brown is the worst type of hypocritical career politician." (Bernie Moreno Senate campaign)

"Unfortunately for him, Ohioans aren’t stupid and won’t fall for his lies," the Republican candidate added.

The Title 42 Senate proposal would extend the order for two more years, allowing the administration to turn migrants away from the southern border.

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The Senate Democrats’ proposal comes after Title 42 expired at 11:59 p.m. on Thursday night, bringing a boiling political pot to the forefront of tight re-election races.

Fox News Digital reached out to Brown’s campaign for comment but did not immediately receive a response.