Border Democrat Calls for Title 42 Extension

Rep. Vincente Gonzalez, D-Texas, is urging President Joe Biden to extend Title 42, which is slated to end later this week, as the border crisis intensifies.

“I remain concerned that our precarious immigration system is already stretched beyond its capacity,” Gonzalez said in a Monday statement. “Until we have the proper infrastructure in place to handle the inevitable influx of asylum seekers in a humane and orderly way, I urge President Biden to extend Title 42.”  

Speaking with the Washington Examiner, Gonzalez said: “I am for the extension of Title 42, at least for a little while longer.  And the reason is because I think that would give us an opportunity to build much more infrastructure to assure that it’s a smooth transition from Title 42 to ultimately Title 8.”

The Examiner noted that under the Trump-era Title 42, about 2.8 million immigrants were expelled during the pandemic as a result of public health reasons.

It is set to expire on Thursday when Title 8 is scheduled to be implemented. Title 8 will deport most immigrants after they enter the U.S., and those who try to cross again may face felony charges, according to the Examiner.

“An extension of Title 42 right now — if you asked me if that was a stand-alone bill, would I vote for it? I would.” Gonzalez told the Examiner. “I always err on the conservative side and to transition smoothly.”

Sens. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., and Thom Tillis, R-N.C., are working on a stopgap border measure that would grant the Biden administration a temporary two-year extension to expel migrants from the United States.

A Sinema aide told Politico that the bill being proposed by the bipartisan pair is functionally different from Title 42 in that it does not rely on a public health order to deny asylum and migration claims.