Today, April 11th, 2022, Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (IA-02) signed on as a cosponsor to H.R. 7458, the Public Health and Border Security Act of 2022. This bipartisan bill was introduced by Reps. Jared Golden (ME-02) and Tony Gonzales (TX-23) and would prevent President Biden from lifting existing Title 42 immigration restrictions without a plan in place from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to address the expected surge of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border.
This legislation is the House companion to S. 4036, introduced by Sens. James Lankford (R-OK) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ).
“The Administration needs to have a concrete plan in place to secure the border before lifting important policies like Title 42. Without a plan, lifting Title 42 would likely lead to one of the worst immigration, legal, and humanitarian crises our country has seen in decades,” said Miller-Meeks. “I have visited the U.S.-Mexico border three times since taking office and have spoken with law enforcement officials about the crisis they are already facing. I hope the Administration takes action to develop a thoughtful plan that supports law enforcement and border communities before lifting Title 42.”
Background:
On April 8th, Miller-Meeks led 62 House Republicans in a letter to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas seeking answers on the Administration’s plans to secure the border and support Customs and Border Protection (CBP) after the Title 42 policy is lifted.
The bill would prohibit the Biden Administration from ending Title 42 until 60 days after formally ending the COVID-19 public health emergency declaration. Within 30 days of ending the public health emergency, the President must submit a plan to process the migrant surge to Congress.
Title 42 is a provision of the Public Health Service Act of 1944. In March 2020, the Trump Administration invoked Title 42 to prevent the spread of COVID-19, preventing migrants presenting themselves at the border for asylum from remaining in the country while their cases were processed. The Biden Administration had largely continued the Trump Administration’s policy but announced that it will begin rolling back the policy on May 23rd, 2022
Original source can be found here
