Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) sent a letter to Senator Gary Peters (D-MI), chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, to demand a hearing on the ongoing border crisis.
Johnson’s request was underscored by President Joe Biden’s decision to end Title 42, a public health order that limited migration during the coronavirus pandemic. Biden’s move has faced bipartisan opposition.
“The Biden Administration recently announced plans to terminate the Title 42 border restrictions by May 23, 2022. In addition, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) are in the process of finalizing a regulation that completely upends the asylum process. The implications of both of these decisions will undoubtedly lead to a surge of migrants at our southern border. It is unclear whether the Biden Administration has plans to respond effectively to the expected surge of illegal immigration that will result from these policy decisions this spring and summer. We write to request that you immediately convene a public hearing to examine the Biden Administration’s termination of the Title 42 border restrictions and other border enforcement policies,” Johnson, along with other GOP senators, wrote.
Border officials, who will enforce the order until May 23, have detailed concern over the number of people amassing at the border, waiting for the health order to be lifted.
Many experts expect a surge in migration over the summer.
In 2021, U.S. Border Patrol apprehended a record 1.9 million individuals.
“Since the beginning of the 117th Congress, members of this Committee have repeatedly raised the need for the Committee to conduct oversight of the crisis at the southern border. Under your leadership, however, the full Committee has only had one border-related hearing, and thus has failed to carry out its responsibility to conduct meaningful oversight of the southern border crisis,” the group added.
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Cooper Moran is a reporter for The Wisconsin Daily Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Border Crossers” by Sen. Ron Johnson and “Sen Ron Johnson” is by Gage Skidmore CC2.0.
