WASHINGTON (NewsNation) — The COVID-era immigration policy known as Title 42 is set to expire Thursday, and now many lawmakers are warning of a potential humanitarian crisis at the southern border once the policy ends.
Two senators, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) and Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), proposed legislation that would likely extend Biden’s authority to expel migrants without a hearing even after the policy expires.
Meanwhile, Republicans in the House are expected to vote on a new border security and immigration package Tuesday.
They said the “Secure the Border Act of 2023” will do just what its title suggests: secure the border. Some House Republicans have called it the strongest border security bill Congress has ever written.
It includes the continuation of the border wall, mandates 22,000 border agents, states that migrants would have to remain in Mexico or a third-party nation, investments in technology and stricter asylum rules. Some of these policies are continuations of former President Donald Trump’s rules.
While Republicans said this is the nation’s answer to the border crisis it’s facing, this bill will have very little support from Democrats — if any at all.
The White House has already criticized the bill, saying that Biden would veto it if it reaches his desk.
Most of the objections focus on the new asylum rules. The bill changes the standard for when someone is legally eligible to make an asylum claim to enter the U.S.
Even some Republicans have expressed some hesitation about the authority the legislation would give to the secretary of Homeland Security, who would be able to effectively pause all legal asylum claims if he or she deems there’s no “operational control of the border.”
NewsNation has continued to check with some Republican offices to see if those objections still exist.
The House GOP will need every Republican vote in order to pass the bill onto the Senate because their majority is so small.
Last week, lawmakers hinted at a possible bipartisan Senate bill that would extend Title 42 border security measures for two more years. However, there hasn’t been much movement on it since.
Sinema did acknowledge the bill over the weekend, saying it would act just as a Band-aid, not a long-term solution. However, it would give the government time to come up with a better, more permanent solution to secure the southern border.
