Henry Cuellar, a Democrat, revealed he has been speaking with Border Patrol agents, sheriffs, and community members in Texas who say they don’t want President Joe Biden to end Title 42. The Trump-era immigration restriction has allowed authorities to cite health concerns and turn migrants away from the U.S.-Mexico border. Biden announced he would abolish the policy on May 23.
Its ending has been long sought by immigrant advocates allied with the White House but raises the prospect of further chaos at the border before the midterm elections. “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,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement. “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.”
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“This message of lifting Title 42 is going to go straight to the criminal organizations,” Henry Cuellar commented on Fox News Sunday. “Over the last six months, there were more than 1 million encounters, and that doesn’t even include the getaways.” Cuellar emphasized the massive profit cartels are making smuggling people to and across the border. Estimating the organizations are charging $8,000 per migrant, Cuellar said the cartels had made more than $8 billion before factoring in profits from running drugs.
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The Biden Administration is refusing to listen to Cuellar or other people who live in communities along the border, he said. “We’ve told them, but they said they’re going to continue with lifting Title 42,” he stated. “Yes, they’re listening to immigration activists, but my question is, who’s listening to the men and women in green and blue?’ And, more importantly, who is listening to the border communities?”
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As Customs and Border Protection builds more processing facilities, Cuellar warned that more agents are being pulled further away from patrolling the border, exacerbating a situation that he says will worsen when Title 42 goes away.
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“It’s like having a school, and we’re only teaching with 40% of the teachers,” he lamented. “The messages are going out to the smugglers and to the migrants that on May 23, you can go ahead and come in, and Border Patrol is only working with 40% of its men and women.”
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