Washington, DC – Congresswoman Liz Cheney (R-WY) issued the following statement after signing a discharge petition to bring H.R. 471, the Protecting Americans from Unnecessary Spread upon Entry from COVID-19 Act of 2021 (PAUSE Act), to the floor. This legislation preserves Title 42 enforcement at the southern border and will receive a floor vote if 218 members sign on to the discharge petition. The Biden Administration announced last week that they will be lifting Title 42 at the end of May:
“It is essential that we secure our southern border. The open-border policies of the Biden Administration led to record-high illegal border crossings in 2021 and we’re on pace to exceed those numbers this year. In order to limit these illegal crossings and protect the security of our nation, I’m proud to join a discharge petition on this commonsense legislation that ensures our southern border and public health remain safe by continuing enforcement of Title 42.”
BACKGROUND
- This bill maintains immigration restrictions put in place under public health emergency authorities to prevent the introduction of COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) from foreign countries.
- Specifically, the bill prohibits the Department of Health and Human Services from rescinding or reducing the stringency of the restrictions. It also prohibits the Department of Homeland Security from stopping or reducing enforcement of the restrictions.
- These prohibitions remain in effect until (1) federal and state COVID-19 emergency orders are lifted, and (2) the risk of introducing COVID-19 in or from Canada and Mexico is minimal.
- The text of the discharge petition can be found here and text of the bill here.
Original source can be found here.
