WASHINGTON – Today, Heritage Action, a national conservative grassroots organization with two million grassroots activists nationwide, released a statement from Executive Director Jessica Anderson firing back against the Biden administration’s decision to roll back Title 42 amid the worst border crisis in recent history.
A country without borders is not a country at all. The crisis on our southern border is one of this administration’s biggest leadership and humanitarian failures, yet President Biden continues to put criminal cartels and human traffickers over American lives and sovereignty.
Title 42 comes from a law that has been on the books for decades, and now is one of the last remaining enforcement mechanisms for Border Patrol to expel the overflow of illegal migrants. Ending Title 42 would recklessly handicap law enforcement and further exacerbate the devastating loss of life and uncontrolled criminal activity on the southern border. Regardless of political party, Congress and state leaders must come together to defend our borders, prosecute criminals, and empower law enforcement.
Background:
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) admits that reversing Title 42 could result in illegal crossings spiking up to 18,000 per day. Republicans, along with several Democrats, border state leaders, and law enforcement officials have come out in opposition to the Biden administration’s move, calling the reversal “catastrophic” and warning it will “cause the single largest flux of illegal immigrant in our history.”
Migrant encounters are already at historic highs. According to U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), there were 221, 303 migrant encounters, which is a 542% increase from 2020. Aside from illegal migrants, known gang members, or criminals on the terror watch list, CBP has also seized 11,201 pounds of illicit fentanyl crossing the border – enough to kill every American seven times over.
Border law enforcement have put their lives on the line to protect the border and migrants despite the lack of support from the Biden administration. This week, 22-year-old Texas National Guard soldier, Bishop E. Evans, lost his life while attempting to save drowning migrants who were eventually suspected to be drug traffickers.
More than a dozen states have filed lawsuits against the Biden administration to keep Title 42 in place. On Monday, a Louisiana federal judge granted a temporary restraining order to force the Biden administration to enforce Title 42 until it officially expires at the end of May.
Biden’s move to give illegal immigrants a pass by ending Title 42, used by the Trump administration as a COVID-19 precaution, also comes as Biden and the CDC continue to push for mask mandates for American citizens.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is set to testify in front of the House Judiciary Committee this Thursday following a Congressional delegation visit to Eagle Pass Border Patrol Station in Texas.
Heritage Action is a national grassroots organization with two million conservative activists nationwide. Heritage Action advances the policies of our partner organization, The Heritage Foundation, and works to make them a reality.