On Thursday, a group of senators proposed a plan that would let border guards to continue removing immigrants without a judicial hearing even when a public health order that has permitted these removals during the coronavirus outbreak expires the next week.
The plan basically gives the U.S. government permission to extend for two years without providing a public health reason the soon-to-be-terminated Title 42 border deportation program. On May 11, when the COVID-19 national public health emergency expires, Title 42 will come to an end.
Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina and independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona said in a statement that they were launching the bill because they had little faith in the Biden administration's strategy for dealing with the anticipated increase in migration to the southern border after Title 42 is lifted.
The bipartisan measure I'm drafting with Senator Sinema would help stop the terrible repercussions at the border that we will soon see if no action is done, Tillis said. "It's clear that Congress must immediately step in," he said.
The Biden administration, according to Sinema, failed to "plan ahead and implement a realistic, workable plan" to handle immigration after Title 42 is phased out. Sinema was a Democrat until December 2022.
Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and John Cornyn of Texas are also cosponsors of the legislation, which calls on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to immediately send migrants to Mexico "without further hearing or review." The people who are being prepared for expulsion must be held until they are expelled.
According to the plan, the United States would have the power to deport migrants to their home countries, nations where they have a place of abode, or third countries prepared to take them if Mexico refuses to accept their return or DHS deems that deportations there are not in the national interest.
The law would prohibit U.S. authorities from sending asylum-seekers back to nations where they would be subjected to torture or other forms of repression because of their race, religion, nationality, political opinions, or participation in a social group. Migrants with certain criminal convictions or those regarded to pose a threat to national security would be exempt from this restriction.
To avoid deportation, those who claim they risk torture or persecution must pass first interviews with U.S. asylum agents.
The Sinema-Tillis framework, initially drafted in late last year, originally called for the State Department to impose visa restrictions on nationals of nations whose governments oppose U.S. expulsions. The legislation passed on Thursday did not include that clause.
According to the idea, DHS would be able to process some migrants at ports of entry instead of expelling them, including those who have serious medical issues.
It's uncertain if the legislation introduced by Sinema and Tillis would get enough support in the Senate and, most critically, Chuck Schumer's endorsement. Sinema, a Democrat at the time, co-introduced a measure to preserve Title 42 with six other Democrats and Republicans after the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention first declared they would cancel the program.
Title 42, first used by the Trump administration in March 2020 as an emergency measure to stop the coronavirus's spread, has granted U.S. border police the power to deport tens of thousands of migrants without considering their requests for asylum.
Republicans, moderate Democrats, and border city leaders are all concerned about whether the Biden administration is ready to handle an anticipated increase in migrant crossings as a result of the policy's planned discontinuation next week.
After Title 42 expires, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) anticipates that up to 10,000 migrants could enter the country daily, nearly doubling the daily average in March. According to further internal government forecasts, the number of migrants arriving each day might increase to 11,000–13,000 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 deterrent measures, such as increased deportations and a restriction on asylum, with increased opportunities for immigrants to enter the country legally.
The plan basically gives the U.S. government permission to extend for two years without providing a public health reason the soon-to-be-terminated Title 42 border deportation program. On May 11, when the COVID-19 national public health emergency expires, Title 42 will come to an end.
Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina and independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona said in a statement that they were launching the bill because they had little faith in the Biden administration's strategy for dealing with the anticipated increase in migration to the southern border after Title 42 is lifted.
The bipartisan measure I'm drafting with Senator Sinema would help stop the terrible repercussions at the border that we will soon see if no action is done, Tillis said. "It's clear that Congress must immediately step in," he said.
The Biden administration, according to Sinema, failed to "plan ahead and implement a realistic, workable plan" to handle immigration after Title 42 is phased out. Sinema was a Democrat until December 2022.
Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and John Cornyn of Texas are also cosponsors of the legislation, which calls on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to immediately send migrants to Mexico "without further hearing or review." The people who are being prepared for expulsion must be held until they are expelled.
According to the plan, the United States would have the power to deport migrants to their home countries, nations where they have a place of abode, or third countries prepared to take them if Mexico refuses to accept their return or DHS deems that deportations there are not in the national interest.
The law would prohibit U.S. authorities from sending asylum-seekers back to nations where they would be subjected to torture or other forms of repression because of their race, religion, nationality, political opinions, or participation in a social group. Migrants with certain criminal convictions or those regarded to pose a threat to national security would be exempt from this restriction.
To avoid deportation, those who claim they risk torture or persecution must pass first interviews with U.S. asylum agents.
The Sinema-Tillis framework, initially drafted in late last year, originally called for the State Department to impose visa restrictions on nationals of nations whose governments oppose U.S. expulsions. The legislation passed on Thursday did not include that clause.
According to the idea, DHS would be able to process some migrants at ports of entry instead of expelling them, including those who have serious medical issues.
It's uncertain if the legislation introduced by Sinema and Tillis would get enough support in the Senate and, most critically, Chuck Schumer's endorsement. Sinema, a Democrat at the time, co-introduced a measure to preserve Title 42 with six other Democrats and Republicans after the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention first declared they would cancel the program.
Title 42, first used by the Trump administration in March 2020 as an emergency measure to stop the coronavirus's spread, has granted U.S. border police the power to deport tens of thousands of migrants without considering their requests for asylum.
Republicans, moderate Democrats, and border city leaders are all concerned about whether the Biden administration is ready to handle an anticipated increase in migrant crossings as a result of the policy's planned discontinuation next week.
After Title 42 expires, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) anticipates that up to 10,000 migrants could enter the country daily, nearly doubling the daily average in March. According to further internal government forecasts, the number of migrants arriving each day might increase to 11,000–13,000 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 deterrent measures, such as increased deportations and a restriction on asylum, with increased opportunities for immigrants to enter the country legally.
