Here’s what Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona wants to see before Title 42 is lifted
May 18, 2022, 9:46 AM
PHOENIX – U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona said Wednesday there will be chaos at the southern border if Title 42 ends before the government is prepared to address the surge of migrants expected to follow.
Kelly, who said he’ll be meeting with Customs and Border Protection officials in Yuma on Friday, said his main concerns are about staffing, housing and transportation.
“If you got to keep people overnight, where are you going to house them?” the Democrat told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Arizona’s Morning News. “I’ve had these conversations with like Mayor Douglas Nicholls in Yuma, as an example, and there is no facility to temporarily house migrants at this point.
“So I would want to see a facility and see it open and see a transportation plan and see what the increased number of Border Patrol agents are at the border.”
Kelly said Title 42 should be lifted eventually but thinks President Joe Biden’s plan to end it next week is too hasty. The Trump-era policy keeps asylum seekers from entering the U.S. and was enacted two years ago to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
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The Biden administration aims to end the policy on Monday, although the plan is the subject of several ongoing court challenges that could put it on hold.
Kelly and fellow Democratic Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema are cosponsors of a bill introduced last month to keep Title 42 in place until certain conditions are met.
“Until this administration comes up [with] and starts to execute on a plan, we need to leave things the way they are right now, to give Border Patrol, CBP the ability to expedite removal to Mexico for certain individuals,” Kelly said.
“Because if we just allow this to expire, we’re going to see chaos at the southern border, and law enforcement and border communities are just going to be overwhelmed.”
