House committee chairs introduce bill to bring order to border 'chaos' with Title 42 set to expire

With Title 42 set to expire in less than 2 weeks, three key House committee chairmen introduced legislation on Tuesday to restore order out of the "chaos" they say President Biden's "open-border policies" have unloosed at the southwest border

The Biden administration is reportedly planning to send U.S. troops to the border ahead of the expiration of Title 42, a public health authority invoked during the pandemic to bar entry to asylum-seekers to prevent the spread of communicable disease. 

Republicans have been critical of the way the Biden administration has handled security at the U.S.-Mexico border, arguing the U.S. Border Patrol and border states and communities are overwhelmed by millions of illegal immigrants, whose numbers rose again from February to March of this year, according to data from Customs and Border Protection.

"For more than two years, President Biden and Secretary Mayorkas have watched our southwest border fall into the hands of violent cartels and stood by as their own open-border policies allowed the crisis to metastasize to our northern and maritime borders," House committee chairmen Jim Jordan (Judiciary), Mark Green (Homeland Security), and Michael McCaul (Foreign Affairs) said in a joint statement. "This chaos has pushed our Border Patrol agents to the brink, forcing them to work endless hours with no support. 

"But those on the frontlines know this is not just a humanitarian crisis, it is a policy crisis. As the end of Title 42 approaches, it is clear the Biden Administration's plan is to continue funding border mismanagement instead of border security." 

The chairman said the proposed legislation would invest in technology at the border and put an end to the Biden administration's "reckless catch-and-release policies." The bill would also take steps to resurrect two cornerstones of Trump administration border policy — Remain in Mexico and the Asylum Cooperation Agreements — that the Biden administration ended through executive actions.

"It is time to uphold our commitment by passing the Secure the Border Act on the House floor," said the chairmen.