Democrats fractured on response to end of Title 42

The Biden administration’s decision to end to Title 42, a Trump-era policy restricting asylum claims, garnered a fractured response from Democratic lawmakers, advocates and the administration itself.  

Progressives and immigration advocates lauded the decision, arguing it was long overdue after President Biden pledged to end the rule during his 2020 campaign.  

However, moderate Senate Democrats issued a rebuke of the recission, claiming that the administration is not ready to manage a surge of migrants they say will come once the rule is nixed.   

The administration rescinded the rule on Friday, and administration officials distanced themselves politically from the decision, which they said was motivated by public health considerations. 

Under Title 42, which is slated to end May 23, migrants at the border were summarily expelled from the country, rather than being processed under regular immigration rules and allowed to exercise their right to claim asylum. 

The Biden administration used Title 42 around 1.7 million times, sometimes returning individuals back to Mexico on the same day, sometimes taking weeks to repatriate men, women and children to dangerous conditions in Haiti. 

While some Democrats openly celebrated the administration’s decision and called it a win, top Biden administration officials adopted a much more somber tone, warning the move could trigger an influx of migrants. 

“We have put in place a comprehensive, whole-of-government strategy to manage any potential increase in the number of migrants encountered at our border,” said Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in a statement. 

Technically, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Rochelle Wollensky had sole authority to keep or remove Title 42, but few observers believe health care to be the true reasoning behind the policy. 

“It was increasingly hard to hear anybody with a straight face say this is completely about public health and not about immigration,” said Theresa Cardinal Brown, managing director of immigration and cross-border policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center. 

Brown added that migrants were expelled under Title 42 depending on various factors like their place of origin, “without regard to, honestly, the health risks from any particular group.” 

Still, top administration officials defended the sanitary reasoning both for keeping Title 42 for so long, and for announcing its upcoming end. 

“Title 42 is not an immigration authority, but rather a public health authority used by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to protect against the spread of communicable disease. Title 42 remains in place until May 23 and, until then, [the Department of Homeland Security] will continue to expel single adults and families encountered at the Southwest border,” said Mayorkas. 

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) was a leading critic of the Biden administration’s continued use of Title 42. 

Those critics were quiet shortly after the announcement, while other Democrats who were more reserved in picking a fight with the White House quickly came…