Biden admits migrant surge is ‘going to be chaotic’ when Title 42 ends
President Biden conceded on Tuesday that the looming migrant surge at the southern border will be “chaotic for a while” after the Title 42 border policy ends later this week.
Biden, 80, made the stunning admission that he’s not sure the US is prepared for the expected flood of migrants during a press conference that took place after he met with congressional leaders about the debt ceiling.
“I spent close to an hour with the Mexican president today. We’re doing all we can. The answer is it remains to be seen,” Biden said when asked if the US is ready for the influx of migrants arriving from Mexico.
“We’ve gotten overwhelming cooperation from Mexico. We also are in the process of setting up offices in Colombia and other places where you could – or someone seeking asylum can go first. So, it remains to be seen. It’s going to be chaotic for a while,” the president admitted.
The pandemic-era Title 42, which allowed law enforcement authorities to swiftly deport migrants apprehended crossing the border, comes to an end on Thursday along with the Covid-19 pandemic public health emergency.
Biden said Tuesday that “it remains to be seen” whether the US is prepared for the migrant surge after the end of Title 42 on May 11. Getty Images
The White House revealed in late January that the public health emergency would end this week and argued that it needed time to get the “necessary policies in place” to deal with the influx of migrants that would come with Title 42 being terminated.
“The Administration supports an orderly, predictable wind-down of Title 42, with sufficient time to put alternative policies in place. But if H.R. 382 becomes law and the Title 42 restrictions end precipitously, Congress will effectively be requiring the Administration to allow thousands of migrants per day into the country immediately without the necessary policies in place,” the White House Office of Management and Budget said in a statement in January, arguing against a Republican bill to end the public health emergency immediately.
Title 42 allowed law enforcement to quickly deport migrants seeking asylum in the US. REUTERS
Already, some 80,000 South American migrants are amassed in Guatemala and planning to head for the US-Mexico border, sources tell The Post, threatening to overwhelm US Customs and Border Protection agents by handing themselves over by the thousands daily ahead of May 11.
In El Paso — the busiest border crossing in the US — migrants have set up tents just feet from where they plan to surrender themselves to US officials after May 11.
Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott accused the Biden administration on Monday of “laying down a welcome mat to people across the entire world, saying that the United States border is wide open.”
The Biden administration will send some 1,500 troops to the border for the next 90 days because of the end of Title 42. REUTERS
The White House announced last week that it’s sending 1,500 troops to the border for the next 90 days – though only to perform administrative tasks – with the end of Title 42 nearing.
Source: New York Post
