The end of Title 42 has brought renewed concerns about what will happen at the U.S.-Mexico border. House Republicans are working on a bill that they say will address all of the issues there. Among the many elements, the bill would restart construction on a border wall. Considering Democrats control the Senate and the White House, it appears bill H.R. 2 would have little chance of becoming law.
There are a number of items in the bill. In addition to restarting construction on the border wall, it would also make it harder for migrants to seek asylum at the southern border by increasing the number of crimes that would make migrants ineligible for asylum, as well as making it illegal for migrants to try and cross the border at non-ports of entry.
Republicans say the Biden administration has failed the American people.
"He has failed our Border Patrol agents. He has failed our border communities and he has failed America with his open border policy," Rep. Monica De La Cruz said. "But the GOP here will pass this week, H.R. 2, which will put order on the border and finally secure our borders and bring our immigrants in in a humane manner."
Thousands wait along southern US border as end of Title 42 nears
Migrants are waiting for U.S. Customs and Border Protection to open the door as the Title 42 immigration policy expires Thursday at 11:59 P.M.
By and large, Democrats are opposed to the bill. And President Biden has already made clear that if the bill reaches his desk — which is unlikely because of the Senate — he will not sign it.
"The Child Deportation Act — this extreme MAGA Republican piece of legislation will throw out children who are fleeing, in many cases, extreme violence and persecution," argued House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. "It will build a medieval border wall that is a 14th Century solution to a 21st Century problem and wastes billions of taxpayer dollars."
The bill is, in many ways, a Republican wish list of what they'd like to do at the southern border. But with a divided government — Democrats in control of the Senate, President Biden in control of the White House — there isn't so much the Republicans are going to accomplish with this package, other than trying to show that their party is unified in its position.
