WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Ranking Member of the Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, today released the below statement on the Biden administration’s decision to terminate its Title 42 authority, effective May 23, 2022.

“Through policy decision after policy decision, President Biden has created a crisis that is about to balloon into a full blown catastrophe. Rescinding the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Title 42 Authority will put our Border Patrol agents in an even more dire situation. Since March of 2020, Border Patrol has been able to expel migrants quickly and efficiently using this authority. Our facilities are already well over capacity, and without Title 42 Authority, the crisis on our southern border will become even worse. Our immigration system is not designed for persistent irregular mass migration that will result from this poorly thought out decision.”

BACKGROUND:

On March 20, 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued an order pursuant to its public health authority under Title 42. This order allows the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to immediately expel unauthorized single adults and family units who would otherwise be held in congregate settings, including Border Patrol Stations and land Ports of Entry, an soft sided overflow facilities, rather than process them under its traditional Title 8 authorities.

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