U.S. Representative Henry Cuellar was one of the first Democrats to break ranks with U.S. President Joe Biden and his administration’s decision to end the Title 42 immigration policy.
Representative Cuellar is currently facing a tough battle to be reelected to Congress. He has since been joined by Democratic senators Mark Kelly of Arizona and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire and several Democratic Senate and House candidates from Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Ohio, Florida, and Wisconsin in distancing themselves from the Biden Administration on this issue.
The Texas politician told Fox News that he believes the Biden Administration’s decision to withdraw Title 42 will impact the election chances of Democrats.
“This is not good for Democrats in November. You know, in talking to some of my Republican colleagues, they’re saying, ‘We can’t believe the White House is giving us this narrative. We can’t believe that they’re hurting Democrat candidates for the November election,'” Representative Cuellar said. “And you know this, you look at the polls. The Republican voters are not happy by what’s happening at the border. The Democratic voters are not happy. And if you look at the independent voters, they’re not happy about this decision. So who are we trying to please?”
The ending of Title 42 on May 23 is expected to lead to a surge of migrants attempting to cross the border unlawfully. Cuellar explained that the withdrawal of the policy would add more pressure to already overwhelmed border communities.
“Look, we want to treat the migrants with respect and dignity, but you just can’t have them just rush in large amounts,” Representative Cuellar said of the ramifications of a border surge. “They are processed, they’re released or taken over to bus stations or other places, airports. So you know who carries the burden of taking care of those folks? It’s going to be the local communities, the local not-for-profits.”
The Title 42 policy was put into place by the Trump Administration as an emergency measure allowing border patrol officers to expel migrants without a hearing. Title 42 aimed to combat the spike in COVID-19 cases at the Southern Border.
Supporters of repealing Title 42, like the National Immigration Law Center (NILC), argue that the order denies immigrants seeking asylum due process.
“For nearly two years, the Biden and Trump administrations have used the unlawful Title 42 expulsion policy to categorically deny tens of thousands of people their right to seek asylum and return them to dangerous conditions where they face kidnapping, torture, and persecution,” said the NILC in a March press release.
The potential withdrawal of Title 42 had been rumored over the last few months. Eventually, the Biden Administration announced it would allow Title 42 to expire on May 23.
Widespread condemnation of the withdrawal of Title 42 spread from Republicans to some Democrats, including gubernatorial candidate for Texas Beto O’Rourke.
The Biden Administration is putting its faith in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The processing and movement of the increased number of migrants at the Southern Border will be handled using a strategy developed by DHS.
White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Thursday that there will be an increase in resources at the border to deal with the anticipated surge.
“As we’ve been talking about, DHS has a plan,” she said. “DHS is implementing a comprehensive strategy … to address a potential increase in the number of border encounters.”
“This strategy includes acquiring and deploying resources to address increased volumes. That involves moving officers, agents, DHS volunteer force personnel to rapidly decompress points along the border and more efficiently process migrants.”
The Republican party is attempting multiple avenues to halt the Biden Administration’s cancellation of Title 42. Several Republican-led states, including Texas, have filed lawsuits against the Biden Administration seeking a temporary injunction to keep Title 42 in place. Republicans in the Senate have threatened to tie the continuation of Title 42 to an upcoming COVID-19 funding bill. They would need to garner the support of more Democratic senators as that would require a 60-vote threshold.
“Ending Title 42 will be a national security and humanitarian disaster for Americans,” Senate Republican Conference Chair John Barrasso (R-WY) told Fox News. “It is the height of hypocrisy to end this important public health tool at the very same moment Democrats are seeking billions more for COVID. The Biden Administration can’t have it both ways, and Republicans will fight to keep Title 42 safeguards in place.”