Global Courant 2023-05-08 11:00:35
A congressman from President Biden’s own party is demanding that he and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas join Republicans at the negotiating table to find a bipartisan solution to immigration now that the administration’s Title 42 eviction policy has expired. end is running.
Rep. Sharice Davids, D-Kan., warned that the expected onslaught of people trying to cross the border illegally after Title 42 ends could exacerbate the “humanitarian and refugee crisis” if nothing is done to mitigate it.
“As the President decided this week to lift the order (Title 42), by some estimates we are now facing a doubling of illegal crossings on our southern border, exacerbating the current humanitarian and refugee crisis,” Davids wrote in a letter to Mayorkas. .
“While you have presented a list of ways you plan to handle the wave of migration, some of which I partially agree with, we have still not reached a comprehensive long-term plan with bipartisan support.”
TILLIS, SINEMA INSTALL BILL TO CONTINUE DEPLOYMENT OF MIGRANTS AFTER END OF TITLE 42
A border police officer on horseback guards the area near the US-Mexico border fence in the Pacific Ocean on November 7, 2021. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images)
Her letter said that any plan to solve the problems on the southern border should have the support of both the Democratic-controlled Senate and the Republican-controlled House. Davids pointed out that it will soon be a top issue in her chamber as the GOP weighs its expanded immigration and border bill.
“The Republicans in the US House plan to launch a debate on immigration reform in the coming weeks. I urge you and the White House to join me in these conversations about how the landscape for immigration reform in our country should look like,” she wrote.
TILLIS, SINEMA INSTALL BILL TO CONTINUE DEPLOYMENT OF MIGRANTS AFTER END OF TITLE 42
She called for a plan that would both secure the border and provide a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants already in the US
“Ultimately, we need a comprehensive and bipartisan solution that is smart, humane and true to our country’s values. That should include securing and protecting our borders, along with a roadmap to citizenship, especially for people who have served in our military served and Dreamers,” Davids wrote.
Rep. Sharice Davids listens as Rep. Suzan DelBene, the chair of the New Democrat Coalition, speaks to reporters outside the White House on March 30, 2022. (Getty Images)
“As Congress considers immigration reform in the coming weeks, we must make it clear to the American people that we take this challenge seriously and are ready to find solutions. You had a year to commit before Title 42 was lifted , and I hope you and the president both recommit to working with Congress to get real results.”
Davids previously sounded the alarm about the border crisis in April last year, when the Biden administration had previously moved to lift Title 42. The policy gives border agents massive powers to reject migrants on contact to slow the spread of COVID-19 . .
BIDEN ADMIN SECURES AGREEMENT WITH MEXICO TO DEPORT SOME NON-MEXICAN MIGRANTS FOR TITLE 42 BEDLAM
Opponents of the policy point argue that it is a health measure mandated by the CDC, rather than an immigration rule, and is no longer necessary — especially as the national pandemic emergency ends this month.
But proponents of keeping it in place warn that an already drastic border crisis could get worse if border officials are stripped of their authority.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas speaks at a hearing with the Senate Homeland Security Committee on April 18, 2023 in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
The expected end of the policy this week has forced federal officials to scramble to address the increase in what the Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) says has been an average of 2,000 border crossings per day for the past two weeks, in the McAllen, Texas, area only.
Some estimates say the figure could reach 10,000 a day after Title 42 is lifted.
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To aid in the expected onslaught of asylum seekers and other migrants, the president ordered 1,500 US troops to the border to support patrol officers. Mayorkas was also at the border last week when he toured with CBP agents and saw facilities where migrants awaited processing. Republicans have sharply criticized his performance as head of the DHS, even calling for his impeachment.
The Senate is working on a bipartisan solution to temporarily allow the deportation of migrants after Title 42 expires, granting similar powers to health policy.
Elizabeth Elkind is a political reporter for Fox News Digital.
