Mayorkas Rejects Bipartisan Border Crisis Plan: 'Band-Aid Solution'

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas rejected a bipartisan bill that would extend Title 42 for another two years as the United States prepares for an influx of migrants when the pandemic-era rule expires on Thursday.

Former President Donald Trump invoked Title 42 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, allowing authorities to expel migrants from the U.S. without undergoing a formal asylum process. The Biden administration has opted to let the restriction expire on May 11, saying that the public health order should not be used as a means of immigration enforcement.

Critics, however, have condemned the Biden administration's decision, saying it will lead to an increase of migrants that the U.S. is ill equipped to handle as border communities brace for a high, yet unclear, number of border crossings.

Immigration has remained a difficult issue for President Joe Biden, who has faced criticism from Republicans and Democrats over large numbers of migrants trying to enter the U.S. at the southern border. According to data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), there were more than 2.3 million attempted border crossings last year, up from 458,088 in 2020.

As Title 42 is set to expire, Senators Kyrsten Sinema, an Arizona independent, and Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, last week announced legislation that would provide the Biden administration a two-year temporary expulsion authority for migrants trying to enter the country without the proper documentation.

Their bill would grant the administration expulsion authority in a way that is not tied to public health, unlike Title 42. Sinema said in a statement announcing the bill that it would give "the Administration time to actually implement a realistic, workable plan that will secure our border."

Mayorkas, however, warned that this legislation would not be a permanent solution to solving the U.S. immigration crisis during an appearance on CBS News' Face the Nation on Sunday.

"Title 42 and the expulsion authority is a public health authority. It is not an immigration authority. We will be using our immigration authorities, which call for a consequence regime, which is why we have to correct the lies that smugglers tell vulnerable migrants. They think they're coming and that they'll be able to stay. And that is just unequivocally false," he said. "What I would say to the senators, Senators Tillis and Sinema, what we need is our system fixed. Not a Band-Aid solution."

Newsweek reached out to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Senator Sinema and Senator Tillis for comment via email.

Biden last week approved a plan to deploy 1,500 more troops to the U.S.-Mexico border ahead of the Title 42 expiration. These troops will remain at the border for 90 days to aid CBP agents deal with any influx of migrants.

However, Republicans, who have been sharply critical of Biden's approach to immigration, have said sending more troops to the border will not be adequate to deal with the situation.