The plan essentially gives the US government permission to extend the soon-to-be terminated Title 42 border deportation program for two years without providing a public health reason. On May 11, when the national public health emergency COVID-19 expires, Title 42 will end.
Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona said in a statement they were initiating the bill because they had little faith in the Biden administration’s strategy to deal with the predicted increase in migration to the southern border after the title. 42 is lifted.
The bipartisan measure I am drafting with Senator Sinema would help end the terrible border repercussions that we will soon see if no action is taken, Tillis said. “It is clear that Congress needs to intervene immediately,” he said.
The Biden administration, according to Sinema, did not “plan ahead and implement a realistic and achievable plan” to handle immigration after Title 42 was phased out. Sinema was a Democrat until December 2022.
The senses. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and John Cornyn of Texas are also co-sponsors of the legislation, which calls on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to immediately send migrants to Mexico “without further hearing or review.” Persons preparing for deportation should be detained until deportation.
According to the plan, the United States would have the power to deport migrants to their countries of origin, countries where they have a place of residence or third countries ready to receive them if Mexico refuses to accept their return or if DHS believes there are deportations. not in the national interest.
The law would prohibit US authorities from returning asylum seekers to countries where they would be subjected to torture or other forms of repression because of their race, religion, nationality, political opinions or membership in a social group. Migrants with certain criminal convictions or those considered a threat to national security would be exempt from this restriction.
To avoid deportation, those who say they risk torture or persecution must first be interviewed by US asylum officials.
The Sinema-Tillis framework, originally drafted late last year, originally asked the State Department to impose visa restrictions on nationals of countries whose governments oppose U.S. deportations. Legislation passed Thursday did not include this clause.
According to the idea, DHS would be able to process some migrants at ports of entry instead of deporting them, including those with serious medical conditions.
It is not certain that the legislation presented by Sinema and Tillis will get enough support in the Senate and, more importantly, the approval of Chuck Schumer. Sinema, a Democrat at the time, co-introduced a measure to preserve Title 42 with six other Democrats and Republicans after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention first said they would cancel the program.
Title 42, first used by the Trump administration in March 2020 as an emergency measure to stop the spread of the coronavirus, granted US Border Patrol the power to deport tens of thousands of migrants without heed. account of their asylum applications.
Republicans, moderate Democrats and leaders in border towns are all wondering if the Biden administration is ready to handle an expected increase in migrant crossings following the policy’s planned shutdown next week.
After Title 42 expires, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) predicts that up to 10,000 migrants could enter the country daily, nearly doubling the daily average in March. According to other internal government forecasts, the number of migrants arriving each day could reach 11,000 to 13,000 people.
The Biden administration, on the other hand, has insisted that it is ready to phase out Title 42 and that it intends to discourage unauthorized entry by combining deterrents, such as the increase in deportations and a restriction of asylum, with increased opportunities for immigrants to enter. the country legally.