Title 42, Remain in Mexico Policy, Etc.: Congressional Immigration Reform Should be the Focus

As the J.D. Vance campaign spot (with the jarring lead-in lines “Are You Racist? Do You Hate Mexicans?”) above illustrates, the upcoming midterm elections have Democrats and Republicans once again sparring on immigration.  At the same time, courts are refereeing the disputes over immigration policy.  For example, the Supreme Court is mulling over the Biden administration’s effort to rescind the “Remain in Mexico” policy.   Similarly, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention concluded that public health concerns no longer justify the Title 42 order restricting entry by noncitizens, including asylum-seekers, originally entered by the Trump administration.  “After considering current public health conditions and an increased availability of tools to fight COVID-19 . . . , the CDC Director has determined that an Order suspending the right to introduce migrants into the United States is no longer necessary.”  Nonetheless, the Biden administration’s attempt to lift the order has proven to be controversial as the mid-term elections near and the courts have intervened.

In this editorial (“Borderline Insanity“), the Washington Post notes that “Title 42 is indefensible. So is Congress’s failure to pass immigration reform.”  This is a point that I highlighted in commentary in The Hill earlier this year.  Unfortunately, the chances for Congress to pass immigration reform appears to be dwindling by the day.

KJ