Hoeven: Administration Should Keep in Place Title 42 Covid Health Order

After Visits to Latin America & Southern Border, Senator Outlines Importance of Policy In Stemming Tide of Illegal Immigration, Preventing Spread of COVID-19

WASHINGTON – At a press conference this week, Senator John Hoeven, a member of the Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Committee, joined his colleagues in urging the Biden Administration to keep in place the 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. Media reports indicate the administration plans to revoke the policy at the end of the month.

In March, the senator 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. Last week, Hoeven 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.

“In May, CBP reported more than 180,000 encounters with individuals trying to cross our southern border – an increase of nearly 675% from May 2020,” said Hoeven. “Last week I traveled to Mexico, Ecuador, Colombia and Guatemala with a bipartisan group of senators, and it’s clear that people are coming here illegally because they know if they get here, they can stay. That means more human trafficking, more drug trafficking and other illegal activities by the coyotes and cartels. At the same time, these nations have very low vaccination rates. Cleary, we need to keep Title 42 in place to help prevent the spread of COVID and to stem the tide of illegal immigration into our country.”

Additionally, the senator 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. At the same time, Hoeven has been urging the Administration to reinstate other key immigration policies. That includes:

• 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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