US House passes Republican-led border security bill ahead of Title 42’s expiration

By Iclal Turan

WASHINGTON (AA) - The US House of Representatives passed a Republican-backed border security bill to address immigration at the US-Mexico border Thursday, the same day coronavirus pandemic restrictions at the border known as Title 42 are set to end.

The bill, also known as the Secure the Border Act, passed in a 219-213 vote, with two Republicans — Reps. John Duarte of California and Thomas Massie of Kentucky — and all Democrats voting "No."

The legislation mandates that Customs and Border Protection hire and train a sufficient number of Border Patrol agents to maintain a staff of 22,000 and devise a plan to upgrade current technology to ensure that agents are well equipped. It would also require the homeland security secretary to resume construction of the border wall begun under the Trump administration

"Today, as the Biden administration allows Title 42 to expire, House Republicans are taking action to address the chaos at our nation's borders by delivering legislation that will support our Border Patrol agents, block the flow of fentanyl into our country, and put an end to the Biden Border Crisis," House Republican leaders said in a joint statement following the passing of the bill.

Noting that Border Patrol agents, ranchers, families and businesses "have suffered" under Biden's "open-border agenda" over the last two years, the statement said the Secure the Border Act "delivers on our Commitment to America to end this crisis."

"Our plan will increase the number of Border Patrol agents, provide effective border enforcement technology, resume construction of the border wall, and end the administration's catch and release policy," it said.

To become law, the bill also has to be approved by the US Senate, which is controlled by the Democrats. The White House opposes the bill, saying it would make "elements of our immigration system worse."

Title 42, which was enacted by former President Donald Trump in March 2020, is set to expire at 11.59 p.m. ET on Thursday (0359GMT Friday), and the Biden administration has for years been preparing for the change.

The COVID-19 era policy has allowed the US to expel migrants nearly 2.7 million times from the southern border, according to government figures.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has repeatedly called on Congress to overhaul America’s “broken” immigration system, which he said has been left in place for 20 years “despite unanimous agreement that we desperately need legislative reform.”

“Our efforts within the constraints of our broken immigration system are focused on ensuring that the process is safe, orderly and humane, all while protecting our dedicated workforce and our communities,” he told reporters during a daily press briefing Thursday at the White House.