President Biden is expanding a controversial Trump-era immigration policy to deport more migrants.
UUSCWhat is Title 42? Title 42 is a public health rule that allows U.S. authorities to limit immigration by allowing the immediate deportation of arriving migrants. In March 2020, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) imposed the measure, arguing it was necessary to curb immigration in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. This April, the CDC announced it was ending Title 42, saying there was no longer a public health rationale for the policy. However, supporters of the rule claim it provides safety, and a federal court blocked the Biden administration from lifting it earlier this year at several Republican-led states’ requests.
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Biden’s Expansion. Yet as the President moved to end the rule earlier this year, opposition came not only from conservatives but also some within his own party. Many congressional Democrats, particularly those from border and swing states, pressured the administration to leave Title 42 in place. Yet while these efforts initially failed to dissuade President Biden from moving to lift the order, the administration is moving to expand its use of the rule, even as it fights several GOP officials to rescind it. Last week, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) unveiled a joint agreement with Mexico to extend Title 42 to include Venezuelan asylum seekers. Also, the administration announced it would create a narrow legal pathway into the United States for 24,000 Venezuelan migrants while allowing border authorities to send others who enter the country illegally across the southern border back to Mexico.
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Venezuela. At the center of this expanded policy is a surge of Venezuelan migrants at the border. Last month, the Biden administration said those fleeing “failing communist regimes” are “driving a new wave of migration,” citing a trio of countries — Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua — as the chief examples. Combined, arrivals from the three nations represented a third of border encounters in August. Some U.S. officials have told media outlets that the administration considered including migrants from all three before finally settling on just Venezuelans. Analysts suggest tens of thousands of Venezuelan migrants are likely making the dangerous trek through Central America to come to the United States. Under leftist authoritarian Nicolas Maduro, the humanitarian situation in Venezuela has steadily worsened over the years, rapidly becoming one of the worst displacement crises in the world.
Midterms. Ahead of the November midterm elections, Republicans have made immigration a central theme of their attacks on the Biden administration and congressional Democrats, arguing that they have enacted lax policies and created massive surges in illegal immigration. Many consider President Biden’s response to be a drag on Democrats facing voters this fall — polling shows growing opposition to the administration’s approach to immigration. Others go as far as to label the border crisis an invasion — such as Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake. Some observers suggest the President is changing policies in hopes of lowering the influx of migrants ahead of the elections to remove that political liability.
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Political Responses. Most Democrats have been divided on Title 42. Some argue that scenes of migrants at the border provide fuel for Republicans to bring out the voter during the midterm. Others have argued ending Title 42 would fulfill promises made by the Biden administration and thereby bring out Democratic voters in support. Opposing Title 42 presents an additional challenge for Democrats looking to sway independent voters — 31% of which support ending Title 42.
While the administration deserves some credit for establishing a legal path into the United States for some migrants, its abrupt expansion of a Draconian Trump-era policy will leave tens of thousands of people fleeing violence and despair without anywhere else to turn. These individuals are looking for refuge from their constant suffering under authoritarian regimes. They hope to create a new home in the United States and become productive members of society. It is unfair for our nation to turn its back on these people.
Thanks to the demonstrations by Republican politicians, the Biden administration has realized that the remain in Mexico policy should be expanded. Migrants should wait in their country of origin before entering the United States legally. It took various lawsuits filed by right-leaning states to further the fight against the border crisis.
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AP Government & Politics
