Just in the nick of time, Chief Justice John Roberts has placed a hold on a lower court decision to end the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Title 42 power at the U.S. border. That staves off an expected massive wave of illegal immigrants from crossing into the U.S., at least for now. But, while Roberts’ move is welcome, this doesn’t end the border crisis.
Under the Title 42’s authority, the U.S. can expel illegals to prevent spread of COVID, which many health officials believe is set to spike again as winter arrives this week. Title 42 has been one of the few effective tools border officials can use to prevent another massive surge in illegal immigrants.
Unfortunately, a bit over a month ago, a lower court struck down Title 42. Rather than fight, the Biden administration made a token display of asking to keep it in place, but just for five weeks. Now, time’s up. So Roberts’ emergency stay, which comes at the request of 19 state attorneys general, has staved off a bigger border crisis.
But for how long? Biden wants Roberts to overturn his ruling, letting Title 42 expire just after Christmas. It’s not hard to figure out why. His policies have essentially erased our southern border. He’ll keep the chaos going to irritate Red State governors on the border and the newly elected House Republican majority, but also, some say, to cynically boost Democratic voter ranks.
How bad could it get? The Biden administration itself has predicted that the flood of humanity coming into our country illegally could soon reach 500,000 a month or more. That’s nearly a 120% increase over fiscal 2022’s record of 230,000 a month.
Do the math: With 18,000 coming in daily, that’s 540,000 each month. For an entire year, that would be 6 million-plus illegal crossings.
Despite all this, Department of Homeland Security chief Alejandro Mayorkas has claimed repeatedly that “the border is secure.”
For his part, Biden has tried to provide himself some cover by adding $3 billion for “border enforcement” to Congress’ recent $1.7 trillion omnibus spending bill, also known as the “perpetual inflation machine.”
The White House is now in a defensive crouch on immigration, as it gaslights America by trying to convince us that the border chaos isn’t chaos at all, and the problems are all Republicans’ fault.
“The removal of Title 42 does not mean that the border is open,” said Biden spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre. “Anyone who suggests otherwise is simply doing the work of (human) smugglers.”
“It would be wrong to think the border is open,” she added. “It is not open.”
This is a plain lie. Even Democrats don’t buy the Biden administration’s brand of baloney.
As Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas said, the $3 billion for border security doesn’t actually “address the issue that we’re facing,” namely, the unimpeded flow of people into the U.S., which has put border cities under severe stress.
California’s ultra-left, open-border Gov. Gavin Newsom candidly admits the expiration of Title 42 would “break” the once-Golden State. In rare accord with Newsom, Virginia’s Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin says it’s “beyond belief” Biden is letting the “catastrophic situation at our border” continue.
Meanwhile, El Paso, Texas, the No. 1 spot for illegal crossings, has just declared a state of emergency, with local police and public agencies overwhelmed by newcomers. Reports of illegal immigrants literally crawling out of the sewers show the desperation.
It’s so bad Texas Gov. Greg Abbott just sent 400 National Guard troops to help ease the immediate threat. But even that won’t end it.
With at least 1,400 already dying trying to cross the border over the last two years, the crisis has become an epic human tragedy. It’s made worse by rampant human trafficking by drug cartels and the illicit importation of fentanyl, the deadly synthetic opioid that’s now the leading killer of Americans aged 18-45.
And it’s worse for migrant children, the innocent pawns in this cruel game.
A recent Senate report faulted the Biden administration for handing “migrant children over to American adults who haven’t submitted to background checks,” making them “vulnerable to everything from being placed in the custody of legal guardians who have a history of child neglect to living in homes with registered sex offenders,” the Washington Free Beacon reports.
While keeping Title 42 in place is the right thing to do for now, it isn’t permanent. The border still needs to be locked down.
The new Congress, with the House in GOP hands, has an opportunity to do what Biden won’t: protect our borders, and end the policies that destroy communities and spread misery.
As Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales, whose sprawling district stretches for 823 miles along the U.S.-Mexico border, recently summed up: “Work visas make sense to me. Pathway to citizenship, amnesty, that is dead on arrival.”
We would add: “Build the wall and deport anyone here without legal reason to be.”
As every other nation, the U.S. has both the right and the obligation to protect its borders. To do otherwise is a dangerous dereliction of duty. Both Biden and Mayorkas are guilty of that. In a just world, both would be impeached. But right now, we’d settle just for getting our dangerously chaotic border under control again.
— Written by the I&I Editorial Board
