Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans seek hearing regarding Title 42 rescission

Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans recently forwarded correspondence to Chairman Dick Durbin (D-IL), requesting a hearing regarding the Biden administration’s decision to rescind the Title 42 Public Health Order.

The senators said that termination of the Title 42 order would likely result in a large influx of migrants at the southern border.

“U.S. Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz recently stated that there are already approximately 7,000 encounters per day with illegal immigrants crossing the border and that the number of encounters is likely to pass the one million mark for the first six months of FY2022 alone,” the legislators wrote. “That puts the United States on track to break the all-time record for illegal border crossings that was set just last year. With current daily crossings already happening at a record pace, it’s even more concerning that DHS officials have acknowledged the possibility of up to 18,000 encounters per day once Title 42 is rescinded.”

The senators said the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) must have an effective and detailed plan in place to address the immigrant influx before Title 42’s termination. They noted that senators from both parties have raised concerns about the rescission order.

“We share the concerns raised by our Democratic colleagues,” the legislators concluded. “We believe it is important that DHS develop an effective contingency plan, share the details of the plan with Congress and come before the Judiciary Committee to discuss the plan and answer any questions committee members of both parties may have.”

The letter was signed by U.S. Sens. Thom Tillis (R-NC), Charles Grassley (R-IA), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), John Cornyn (R-TX), Mike Lee (R-UT), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Ben Sasse (R-NE), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Tom Cotton (R-AR), John Kennedy (R-LA), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN).