AUSTIN, Texas — U.S. Sen. John Cornyn expects little, if anything, to come of the new efforts of the Biden administration to stem the tide of immigrants expected at the Texas-Mexico border with the expiration of Title 42.
Title 42 is the section of a 1944 public health law that allows the United States to put up barriers to immigration to avoid the spread of disease; in this case, COVID-19. Pres. Joe Biden's administration initially maintained Title 42, but announced in January the policy would be discontinued with the decline of the COVID-19 pandemic. Cornyn called Title 42 an effective immigration tool and blamed the Biden administration for a lack of urgency on the border crisis. The message that sends to immigrants, Cornyn said, is that the United States is a country with open borders.
"The word gets out. People see it on television. They hear it from relatives that the migrants continue to successfully be welcomed into the country, notwithstanding their failure to meet the legal standard. It shouldn't surprise anybody they continue to come," Cornyn said Thursday afternoon on a weekly call with reporters. "Now the Biden administration has, finally, and I believe too late, issued a new rule. It remains to be seen whether this has any impact or not, at all. I think, to use the words of (Department of Homeland Security) Secretary (Alejandro) Mayorkas, it will be chaotic."
Cornyn called Title 42 an effective tool. The Texas Civil Rights Project, which assists immigrants seeking asylum, said the measure did little to address public health and ultimately exacerbated the border's humanitarian crisis at the border. More often than not, the policy has forced asylum seekers into limbo, living in chaos, waiting for the chance to seek legal immigration pathways, said TCRP Attorney Karla Marisol Vargas.
"Over the past three years, the policy toyed with people’s lives, forcing them to face the difficult choice of waiting for months on end at the border or finding alternate routes to seek safety," Vargas said. "Although this policy is ending, we unfortunately anticipate that this administration will continue its tradition of policies focused on denying many people access to life-saving humanitarian protections. It is time for Congress to enact common-sense solutions that would create humane and sustainable asylum and border management processes. TCRP, along with organizations and border communities throughout Texas, stand ready to welcome migrants and will continue to fight for a fair and humane immigration system.”
Mayorkas, who visited Brownsville last week, said the massing of thousands immigrants, unresolved, at the country's southern border, was the result of a broken immigration system that Congress has refused to fix. Short term, the Biden administration wants to send the message that the border is closed. Long term, the administration wants to develop lawful pathways for people to enter the country.
"Our efforts within the constraints of our broken immigration system are focused on ensuring that the process is safe, orderly and humane, while protecting our dedicated workforce and our communities," Mayorkas said. "Let me be clear, the lifting the Title 42 public health order does not mean our border is open. In fact, it is to the contrary."
Title 42 is being replaced with Title 8, the section of U.S. Code that applies to immigration processing, Mayorkas said. Those who violate Title 8 — rather than Title 42 — can be barred from re-entry to the country for at least five years. Those who try to enter the country a second time could face criminal prosecution, as well as fines. The Biden administration also has sent 1,500 active-duty troops to the border, added more structure to the asylum process and expedited removal processing.
"Smugglers have long been hard at work, spreading false information that the border will be open after May 11. It will not," Mayorkas said, offering a message to those who want to come to the United States. "They are lying to people who are thinking of making the journey to our southern border. Know this: Smugglers care only about profit, not people. They do not care about you or your well-being. Do not believe their lies. Do not risk your life and your life savings only to be removed from the United States, if and when you arrive here."
Cornyn, for his part, has more faith in efforts of Republicans in the House to move a proposed border security bill, which was up for debate on Thursday. It passed. The bill, which borrows some from an immigration bill proposed by U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, returns some of the actions on immigration taken by former President Donald Trump's administration: it requires migrants beyond Mexico to seek asylum in another country first; designates a limited number of legal ports of entry; detains migrant children with their parents for the length of their immigration court proceedings; and ramps up penalties for employers employing undocumented immigrants.
The House border security proposal is the first step in a long process to address the immigration issue, said Cornyn, who has participated in bipartisan efforts to pass immigration legislation during his two decades in Congress.
"The bill in the House will pass, hopefully today, and that's the beginning of the process," Cornyn said. "I think it's a lot like the debt ceiling (debate). It gives us a starting point, and then the negotiations will have to continue."
Getting an immigration bill out of the House may be the easiest part, Cornyn said.
"Because once it comes over to the Senate, it will require 60 votes in order to actually pass something, and then it will have to go back to the House. And the House will have to decide to embrace it or not. So I think it's the first step in a hopefully not-too-long journey toward a solution," Cornyn said.
