House Republicans release new border security bill, Biden administration unveils new measures to replace Title 42
TEXAS (CBSNewsTexas.com) – In a two-day period this week, more than 2,000 migrants crossed the Rio Grande near Brownsville.
In El Paso, hundreds of people who entered the U.-S. illegally stood in line outside a homeless shelter.
The Biden administration announced a new plan Thursday that it hopes will reduce the numbers of people coming across the southern border.
The plan replaces Title 42, a COVID-related policy that began during the Trump administration and is now set to expire May 11.
It calls for migrants to be removed in an expedited manner and wouldn't allow them to claim asylum, if they already didn't ask for that protection.
The administration would also open regional processing centers in Guatemala and Colombia to screen people for entering the U.S. legally.
At a news conference Thursday, the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said, "This is a hemispheric challenge that demands hemispheric solutions working with our neighbors in the region. We can and will reduce the number of migrants who reach our southern border. Let me be clear. Our border is not open and will not be open after May 11."
At the Capitol, House Republicans unveiled a new border security bill.
They said it would resume 900 miles of border wall construction.
The legislation would also hire and train 22,000 border patrol agents and provide retention bonuses for existing agents.
Republicans also want to modernize technology.
They blamed the Biden administration for the record numbers of people who've crossed into the U.S.
The Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Michael McCaul, R-Austin, pointed out that illegal immigration has cost Texas taxpayers billions of dollars.
"My state of Texas bears the burden. My state has appropriated $4.5 billion just this session to deal with a federal government issue. It's not a state issue."
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said, "They're encouraging people to come into the America illegally, knowing they don't have valid asylum claims, they don't have beds to house them, there's no mechanism when they send them to other states to take care of those folks They don't care about those people."
Republican leaders criticized the Biden administration's plan, saying they believe once the regional processing centers open, they will increase illegal immigration.
Mark Green, chair of the House Homeland Security Committee said, "Now the door is even more open. All I got to do is get a coyote from the drug cartel to fill out my CPB one app for me."
Blas Nunez-Neto, assistant secretary for border and immigration policy in the Biden administration, disagreed.
But he did say the drug cartels are already lying to people about the end of Title 42, which he said will be a shock to the system. "We do anticipate there will be an increase in irregular migration. We are cautiously optimistic that the measures we announced today will work over time."
