Jacobs fears ending Title 42 will cause disaster at southern border

Editor:

Recently, the Biden administration announced that it would end Title 42 border restrictions in May, one of the last remaining Trump era border security policies yet to be eliminated by this President. For those who do not know, President Trump implemented Title 42, which allows DHS to immediately deport any illegal immigrant as part of the pandemic response.

While I firmly believe we must end Covid-19 mandates, the incredible negligence shown by President Biden’s failure to secure our southern border leaves us with no choice but to demand Title 42 rules remain in place until further security measures are taken.

Let’s set the stage for Biden’s border crisis. February 2022 marked the 12th straight month of over 150,000 illegal immigrant encounters – that is 1.7 million in 2021 alone and over 2 million since Biden took office. That’s not even accounting for the 1,066% increase in fentanyl seizures at one sector in Texas alone or the fact that suspected terrorists are entering through our southern border.

When I visited the Del Rio sector in April of 2021, the cartel made an estimated $11 million per week in human smuggling. When I returned in March of 2022, that number had doubled to $24 million. The cartels have been taking advantage of the open sign on our border since Biden took office. Ending Title 42 restrictions will flood our borders with even more drugs and criminals.

Border Patrol agents have made clear this decision by the President is the final straw and will quite literally spell disaster at our southern border. One DHS estimate predicts encounters could reach 18,000 migrants per day – representing a significant jump. These would be record-shattering numbers, and they are not just speculation. Reports show a significant number of illegal immigrants amassing in Mexican shelters awaiting the end of Title 42 rules.

The threat of our southern border being overrun, our Border Patrol being outmanned, and our capacity being overwhelmed is entirely avoidable. However, the President is marching us forward to the beat of his partisan drum with zero regard for the danger he is introducing to every American community. Members of the House and Senate in his own party are calling for him to reverse course before it is too late. But he has remained firmly unmoved by these calls while hiding in the White House – which, I might remind you, uses a wall as part of its very effective security measures.

I have been to the border three times as part of three congressional delegations. I have listened to Border Patrol agents along the border and the local law enforcement who support them. I have toured facilities, toured the wall, and seen firsthand how cartels infiltrate our borders. The crisis is real, it is the President’s fault, and ignoring it or loosening restrictions will not solve it.

The President must reinstate the strong policies of President Trump he so recklessly eliminated, and he must keep Title 42 restrictions in place until he takes significant action to build the wall, increase Border Patrol capacity, and secure our borders. Anything short of this will be a continuation of his failure to uphold American national security and put us further at risk.

Congressman Chris Jacobs

Orchard Park