Source: United States Senator for Ohio Rob Portman
April 7, 2022 | Press Releases
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senators Rob Portman (R-OH), James Lankford (R-OK), Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), John Cornyn (R-TX), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), John Thune (R-SD), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Jon Tester (D-MT), Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) introduced the Public Health and Border Security Act to require all COVID-19 related national states of emergency to be lifted before Title 42 is officially terminated.
“We have a crisis at our southern border and lifting Title 42 without any plan to deal with this crisis will only make it worse,” said Portman. “I continue to urge the administration to pause this decision, work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle who want to find a solution that effectively deals with this crisis.”
The Biden administration has announced its plans to terminate the Title 42 order on May 23, an initiative Portman has expressed concern due to inadequate time for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to provide a plan that will prevent further chaos at the border. This bill prevents the administration from ending the Title 42 emergency authority until at least 60 days after ending the COVID-19 national emergency declaration. After the end of the national emergency, the Department of Homeland Security would have thirty days to submit to Congress a plan to address the impacts of the post-Title 42 migrant influx. That plan must be made in coordination with local governments, federal agencies, and non-governmental organizations on the front-lines of the migrant crisis.
A bill to end the federal emergency declaration passed the Senate on March 3, 2022, with Portman’s support. Portman has advised against revoking Title 42 until DHS puts a workable plan in place to end the chaos at the southern border.
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