The Trump administration’s policy of holding migrant families who enter the US is being reconsidered by President Joe Biden’s administration, raising concerns about how this divisive action would be put into practice.
Biden’s immigration policies have drawn criticism, particularly Section 42, which allowed for the quick deportation of almost two million people. Progressives, including Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, criticized this approach for causing the biggest reduction in border crossings since 2019.
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Democrats were shocked to learn from the Wall Street Journal on Monday that President Biden is considering whether to extend Title 42 when it expires on May 11. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre chose not to confirm or deny “rumors” about his alleged position change at today’s news conference.
The Hill got the opinions of several Democrats on Capitol Hill:
“Locking immigrant families and children into cages along the border is dangerous, ineffective, and wrong,” Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas), who was just elected to the House, presented the 35th district of Texas with his progressive platform on Tuesday. “It is dangerous and wrong to incarcerate refugee children, regardless of political party.”
Congressman Casar, a young face of the Justice Democrats movement, emphasized that “We can’t go back” in this new period.
Joe Biden’s probable use of Trump-era immigration strategies might be seen as “caving to anti-immigrant fear mongering,” and emulating Republican strategies.
The advocacy director for the pro-immigration organization Detention Watch Network, Setareh Ghandehari, voiced her annoyance with The Hill by saying: “It’s infuriating.”
Since President Biden’s inauguration, his Democratic rivals have mainly been quiet when it comes to immigration issues; even AOC, who garnered news by using dramatic photos to call attention to children being held in cages at the Southern Border, has relied on polite Twitter remarks.
According to calculations made by the Biden administration, the end of Title 42 might lead to a significant increase in border crossings of up to 13,000 people per day.
President Trump promised to increase deportations even further if reelected at his speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference last week in Washington. Moreover, he said that Joe Biden had “hidden” supplies for a substantial border wall that had been accumulated throughout Trump’s administration before becoming office.
