WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — Federal leaders are scrambling to prepare for a surge of migrants that’s expected when the Title 42 border policy ends next week.
Republicans are forecasting a disaster on May 11th, when Title 42 is lifted.
“If you think things are bad now, they’re going to get worse come May 11th. What is now a flood is going to turn into a tsunami,” Sen. John Cornyn said.
Border agents have been using the Title 42 pandemic policy to quickly turn migrants away. Without it, the immigration numbers are expected to skyrocket.
Sen. Lindsey Graham says the Biden Administration should reverse course and keep it in place.
“This is a conscious decision by the Biden Administration to take a tool out of the toolbox that’s been very effective,” Graham said.
The Biden Administration says they are preparing to get ahead of the expected influx. They’re deploying troops to the border, opening migration centers in South America, and ramping up migrant processing.
Sen. Ted Cruz says they aren’t doing enough.
“They don’t intend to shut down the cartels. They don’t intend to secure the border. They don’t intend to stop the drug traffickers. They intend to make it worse,” Cruz said.
The Biden Administration is pointing the finger back at Congress, saying it’s up to lawmakers to pass immigration reform legislation.
“Republicans need to stop doing political stunts and need to come to the table and deal with this in a bipartisan way.” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.
Republicans in the House are proposing a border security package, but it’s unlikely to get enough Democratic support to pass the Senate.
Sen. Tim Kaine acknowledges it’s been difficult to find common ground on this issue.
“This is a challenging problem in a Congress that’s proven thus far unwilling to act,” Kaine said.
Without legislation to reform the process, the immigration crisis is likely to get worse.
