Nevada Senator Catherine Cortez Masto is among Democratic senators, who normally favor open borders, but are cautioning the Biden Administration about the ramifications of lifting Title 42 without a comprehensive plan in place.
According to ABC News, the Department of Homeland Security is preparing for as many as 18,000 migrants per day at the southern border in the event that Title 42 is revoked. Title 42 did not allow immigrants to seek asylum at the Mexican border during COVID.
“This is the wrong way to do this, and it will leave the administration unprepared for a surge at the border,” Masto said in a statement to the Nevada Current in early April. “We should be working to fix our immigration system by investing in border security and treating immigrant families with dignity. Instead, the administration is acting without a detailed plan.”
Senator Catherine Cortez Masto
| Senator Catherine Cortez Masto/Facebook
A recent poll conducted by Politico-Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health asked adults their views on Title 42, which allows U.S. immigration officials to return migrants to their home countries in order to protect the United States in a public health emergency.
According to the poll, a majority of American adults oppose ending the use of Title 42, going against the Biden Administration’s decision to lift the measure. The poll showed 55% of American adults oppose halting Title 42, while 45% support the administration's plan to lift it and remove the ability to limit those coming in the U.S.
Title 42 was first put in place by the Trump Administration in the spring of 2020. The Biden Administration announced on April 1 that it was revoking Title 42, and that this action would take effect on May, 23, CNN reports.
On May 20, Judge Robert Summerhays of the U.S. District Court for Louisiana issued an injunction that prevented the White House from lifting the border restriction, according to The Wall Street Journal. A release from the White House stated the Biden Administration intended to appeal.
"The administration disagrees with the court’s ruling, and the Department of Justice has announced that it will appeal this decision," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre wrote in a statement.
Sen. Masto has not released any public statements regarding the recent injunction but many in the media don’t agree with the Biden Administration and applaud the injunction.
“What it should do instead is send Judge Summerhays a bouquet," Jason Riley, a WSJ opinion columnist, wrote on May 24. This month, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reported that approximately 202,000 people were stopped at the southern border in April. That’s a 22-year high, and Border Patrol detention facilities are already operating at more than 200% capacity, the WSJ reported.
Alerts Sign-up