Hoeven: Biden Administration Needs to Secure the Southern Border

Senator Cosponsors Legislation to Codify Title 42 Public Health Order, Important Tool to Combat Illegal Immigration and Prevent Spread of COVID-19

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven, a member of the Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Committee, this week cosponsored legislation to codify the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Title 42 Public Health Order, an important tool that allows immigration officials to return illegal immigrants to their home country and prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the United States. The legislation was introduced by Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas).

“The crisis at our southern border continues to grow and the Biden administration is exacerbating the problem by only selectively enforcing Title 42. That poses not only health risks for our communities but provides an incentive for illegal immigration and human traffickers,” said Hoeven. “The administration needs to secure the border and ensure that CBP has the tools it needs to combat the immigration crisis at the southern border.”

In March, Hoeven traveled to the Rio Grande Valley in Texas to see firsthand the ongoing illegal immigration crisis at the southern border with border patrol and local leaders. In July, the senator traveled with a bipartisan congressional delegation (CODEL) to Mexico, Ecuador, Colombia and Guatemala to discuss bilateral relations, including the need to work together to stop illegal migration and prevent human and drug trafficking.

Hoeven also has been pressing the administration to resume construction of the border wall and put in place the infrastructure, personnel and technology needed to secure the border. In addition to strong enforcement of Title 42, Hoeven has been urging the administration to reinstate other key immigration policies, including:

• The Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) or Remain in Mexico Policy, which required people seeking asylum at the southern border to wait in Mexico while their case was adjudicated.
• The Safe Third Country Agreements so those seeking asylum from El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala can be returned to their home country to await the outcome of their claims.

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