Top Senate Dem Breaks Rank With Biden Admin Over Latest Immigration Decision

Democratic Michigan Sen. Gary Peters said President Joe Biden should delay Title 42’s expiration date if he doesn’t have a plan when it ends, according to Politico.

Peters, who is the chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) and the Senate Homeland Security Committee told reporters Monday that if the Biden administration doesn’t have a solid plan for Title 42’s end, they should delay its end, according to Politico.

The public health policy, which allows border authorities to quickly expel certain migrants crossing the border amid the COVID-19, will expire May 23.

“Unless we have a well-thought-out plan, I think it is something that should be revisited and perhaps delayed. I’m going to defer judgment on that until I give the administration opportunity to fully articulate what that plan is. I share the concerns of some of my colleagues,” Peters said, according to Politico.

Several Democratic lawmakers facing reelection battles have also come out against ending the Trump-era policy so soon and some have introduced legislation alongside their Republican colleagues to block the decision. Those Democrats have the “right to raise questions,” Peters said, according to Politico.

The Biden administration asserts that it has a plan to handle an expected influx of migrants when the policy ends.

“We are increasing our capacity to process new arrivals, evaluate asylum requests, and quickly remove those who do not qualify for protection. We will increase personnel and resources as needed and have already redeployed law enforcement officers to the border,” Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in an April 1 statement.

“We are referring smugglers and certain border crossers for criminal prosecution. Over the next two months, we are putting in place additional, appropriate COVID-19 protocols, including ramping up our border vaccination program,” he added.

Mayorkas also said that migrants will now be processed under Title 8 for inadmissibility, which National Border Patrol Council President Brandon Judd told the Daily Caller News Foundation means that “everybody is going to be released.”

Peters’ office didn’t respond to a request for comment.