On April 7th, 2022, Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (IA-02) spoke on the floor of the House of Representatives slamming the Biden Administration’s decision to revoke the Title 42 policy at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address the ongoing crisis at our border with Mexico.
Last week, the CDC announced they would officially rescind their Title 42 order on May 23rd. Title 42 is an important tool for DHS to help mitigate the potential spread of COVID-19 coming from Central and South America.
Title 42 health restrictions should be in place until we have border security; given the number of crossings we are seeing, we are far from having a secure border.
According to recent data, CBP is encountering more than 5,500 migrants daily.
Some reports indicate there could be upwards of 18,000 migrants encountered per day when Title 42 is lifted next month.
To put this in perspective, President Obama’s Secretary of Homeland Security, Jeh Johnson, stated that in his tenure 1,000 apprehensions a day was considered a bad day.
More than a year ago, I introduced my first piece of legislation, the REACT Act, which would require DHS to test all migrants illegally crossing our border for COVID-19.
It is time to work in a bipartisan manner to secure our border, support law enforcement, and ensure the safety of all our communities.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, I yield back my time.
