AUSTIN, Texas — The Secretary of Homeland Security was in the hot seat on Capitol Hill Wednesday, as lawmakers grilled him about the White House’s plan to end pandemic-era asylum restrictions. That comes as Republicans, and some Democrats, have blasted the Biden administration’s immigration policies.
“I’ve lost confidence in the administration to deal with this issue,” said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, during an interview on Capital Tonight.
“Every single border control policy that the Trump administration had in place has been reversed by the Biden administration, with no plan in place,” said Cornyn. “If the Biden administration goes through with this plan to lift Title 42, border patrol tells me they’re going to lose control completely.”
Title 42 is a public health order that allows officials to block certain migrants from crossing the southern border. Initially, it was put in place by the Trump Administration in March 2020 and extended by the Biden administration several times. The White House announced last month a plan to lift Title 42 at the end of May.
“What we’ve been asking for is ‘OK, if you’re going to end that, what are you going to put in its place?’” Cornyn said.
Monday, a federal judge temporarily halted that plan. Still, federal officials are moving forward. The Department of Homeland Security released a 20-page memo Tuesday outlining their plan to respond to a potential increase in border crossings.
Gov. Greg Abbott has implemented several border security initiatives in response to the White House’s policies, including Operation Lone Star. That mission has been plagued with issues, including allegations of over-inflated claims of its effectiveness and poor conditions for guardsmen stationed on the border.
“Gov. Abbott’s in a tough spot, and the state of Texas is in a tough spot, because we’re in a border state,” said Cornyn. “This is on our front doorstep. But if the federal government won’t do anything about it, Gov. Abbott and the state have no alternative to deal with it the best they can.”