With the Title 42 order at the southern border coming to an end, the United States is facing a historic surge of illegal immigration, and the Biden administration has no idea what to do about it.
The Title 42 order at the border has been in place for more than three years now, since former President Donald Trump issued it to prevent migrants from entering the United States during the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the Covid state of emergency is set to expire on May 11, and with it, the last semblance of sanity at the southern border.
Already, tens of thousands of aspiring migrants have gathered in tents, preparing to rush the border after the Title 42 order expires, and many more will likely follow in the coming days and weeks. The Biden administration has responded to this by obfuscating about the escalating crisis and putting together half-baked plans that are unlikely to succeed.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is still pretending, as he has for more than two years, that the United States has operational control over its border. He recently came up with a novel definition of border security in his latest attempt to delude the American people.
“It is, in the context in which we are working, it is maximizing the resources that we have available to us to deliver the most effective results,” the secretary said in an interview with NBC’s Chuck Todd.
This might be the most absurd comment to ever come out of Mayorkas’ mouth, and that is saying quite a lot. Under this definition of border security, the border has never been unsecured in American history. It’s an absurd rationalization and demonstrates the lack of seriousness with which Mayorkas approaches his job.
Meanwhile, the White House has resorted to flat-out lying about the extent of the crisis. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre recently claimed that illegal immigration is down by 90 percent since Biden’s policies at the border were implemented, a preposterous deceit even by the low standards of this administration.
The Biden White House has sent 1,500 troops to the border ahead of the order expiration, but those troops are not expected to help contain the surge. The active duty troops will not have authorization to detain or turn back illegal aliens, but are instead being sent there to assist with paperwork and processing. It has become a hallmark of this administration to announce border measures that sound tough, but have no teeth. The current Title 42 order is a perfect example of this.
Even with the order in effect for the past two years, the Biden administration has created broad carve-outs for the program that have helped fuel the historic crisis at the border. They have refused to apply the Title 42 order to unaccompanied aliens who claim to be minors as well as nationals from certain foreign countries. It was revealed last month that more than 99 percent of aliens who sought a Title 42 exception through the U.S. Customs and Border Protection app were granted one. Still, having the Title 42 order at least nominally in place is the only form of security the United States has had at its border for the past two years, and with it going away completely, the crisis will get significantly worse.
On Biden’s watch, a record number of illegal aliens have entered the country in the last two years, and he is on track to set a new record this year. Many Americans look at the crisis at the border and believe that it can’t get any worse, but it can, and it will. While the administration is desperate to look like they are taking this crisis seriously, they are not fooling anyone, least of all aspiring migrants and the ruthless cartels ready to exploit them.
The end of the Title 42 order means the U.S. border will officially be wide open. Biden and his team of anti-borders zealots appear ready to give illegal aliens and the cartels the freedom to violate our laws at will. Without a major course correction, this could effectively mean the end of American sovereignty.
Dale L. Wilcox is executive director and general counsel at the Immigration Reform Law Institute, a public interest law firm working to defend the rights and interests of the American people from the negative effects of mass migration.
