As the crush of illegal immigration on the U.S. southern border continues, President Joe Biden is reportedly reconsidering his administration's decision to end Title 42.
"President Biden's inner circle has been discussing delaying the repeal of Title 42 border restrictions, now set to end May 23, according to a source with direct knowledge of the internal discussion," Axios reports. "The White House is looking for ways to buy time to avoid a massive influx of migrants that would add to already-historic border numbers. That already endangers Democratic incumbents in states that could decide the Senate majority in November."
"Biden officials recognize they're in a jam: moderate Democrats are pounding on them to delay the repeal but doing so would inflame the party's progressive base. That includes members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, who are scheduled to meet with the president next Monday," the story continues.
On April 1, the administration announced Title 42 would be repealed.
“Title 42 is not an immigration authority, but rather a public health authority used by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to protect against the spread of communicable disease. Title 42 remains in place until May 23 and, until then, DHS will continue to expel single adults and families encountered at the Southwest border," Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas released in a statement at the time.
The news alarmed Border Patrol agents, who warned an end to Title 42 with an already overwhelmed system would result in at least 18,000 crossings per day. With thousands of illegal immigrants already evading capture on a daily basis, national security experts have also expressed serious concerns.
NEW: In response to an inquiry from @chiproytx, DHS says there have been *42* subjects on the terror watchlist arrested nationwide at the border since Biden’s inauguration. This is much higher than the 23 revealed in my CBP FOIA (Southern border BP data in 2021 only). @FoxNews
— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) April 19, 2022
Migrants packed in shelters in Tijuana, Mexico, are anxiously waiting for May 23, the day when the 'Title 42' rule will be lifted and when they hope they can proceed with their asylum claims to enter the U.S. pic.twitter.com/PdQtKjox9O
— Reuters (@Reuters) April 20, 2022