More Democrats are joining a bipartisan effort opposing the Biden administration’s plan to end Title 42 at the end of May. The latest Democrat to oppose ending the border measure is Texas Democrat Henry Cuellar who has noted concerns over an incoming migrant surge if the measure is rescinded.
Fox News reports:
“Title 42 should not be lifted,” Cuellar told Fox News Digital in an interview during which he revealed that he signed onto the legislation, which was introduced earlier.
He said if Democrats “don’t stand up and do the right thing, they’re going to be hit hard by the Republicans” during the upcoming midterm elections.
“But some of us are standing up and saying this is the right thing to do for the border,” Cuellar said of keeping Title 42 in place. “We all believe in immigration reform, but we don’t want chaos at the border. We want law and order at the border.”
The bill would extend Title 42 by an extra 60 days, and would require the Homeland Security Department and Health and Human Services Department to submit a plan to Congress on how they will address the expected surge of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Cuellar joins with fellow Democratic Reps. Jared Golden of Maine, Stephanie Murphy of Florida, Greg Stanton of Arizona, Chris Pappas of New Hampshire, and Tom O’Halleran of Arizona in saying the Biden administration is not prepared for the large increase in border crossings.
Cuellar said the Biden is sending “contradictory” messages when he’s pleading with Congress for billions more in COVID-19 relief aid to fight the pandemic while simultaneously declaring “there’s no pandemic here at the border.”
“They’re contradictory signals, when you say, ‘hey, we need more help for our restaurants. We need more help to buy more vaccines. … But oh, but we’re going to lift Title 42, which is a public health (order). It was not a Trump order. It’s a health order … You’re saying the border is open. You can’t really reconcile that in my opinion.”
