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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott warns “total chaos” will break out if the Supreme Court does not uphold Title 42 after the mayor of El Paso declares a state of emergency over rising numbers of immigrants, just DAYS before end the removal policy
- The Republican governor of Lone Star State spoke to ABC’s This Week three days before the COVID-era Title 42 kick-out policy ends.
- A judge ordered the Biden administration to end the policy by midnight on December 21.
- Officials are reportedly concerned that as many as 18,000 undocumented immigrants could be found at the border every day after it ends.
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Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has asked the Supreme Court to halt the expiration of a COVID-19 pandemic-era migrant removal policy, warning that its end could bring “total chaos” to the state. border between the United States and Mexico.
Title 42, which was imposed by the Trump administration, allows border agents to turn away asylum seekers in the name of slowing the spread of COVID-19.
“If the courts don’t step in and stop the removal of Title 42, it’s going to be total chaos,” Abbott told ABC News’ This Week in a prerecorded interview that aired on Sunday.
A federal judge ordered President Joe Biden to end the policy by midnight on December 21.
With less than a week to go until its conclusion, border communities are already experiencing an increase in the number of migrants that is straining state and local infrastructure.
The mayor of El Paso, Texas, declared a state of emergency Saturday after thousands of migrants filled local shelters, forcing many to sleep on the streets in freezing winter temperatures.
Opponents of Title 42 point out that it was a public health measure, not a new immigration policy, and that the pandemic is in a place where it is no longer needed.
Abbott responded Sunday that there is no way to know if levels of COVID transmission are low among migrants from Central and South America, claiming that federal authorities have abandoned keeping such records.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott spoke to ABC News from the border less than a week before the end of the COVID-era removal policy, Title 42
‘Nobody knows exactly who is running into COVID. These people are not tested when they cross the border,’ said the Republican governor.
He claimed without evidence that migrants could be carriers of “other types of diseases” as an argument to maintain Title 42, despite his specificity about the coronavirus pandemic.
“Whether it’s COVID or some other issue, when you have people coming in from all over the world with absolutely no knowledge of their health status, that’s almost by definition a public health risk,” Abbott said.
There are many reasons to keep that in place.
He insisted that Biden supported ‘open borders’ even though the president never said so.
“From the moment Joe Biden was elected, it was known that Joe Biden supported open borders,” Abbott said.
“The cartels, who have sophisticated information, know whether or not the Biden administration is going to enforce immigration laws.”
Migrants are seen crossing from Juárez, Mexico to El Paso, Texas on December 16.
Officials are reportedly concerned that the number of people crossing the border could increase as high as 18,000 a day after Title 42 ends.
The mayor of El Paso declared a state of emergency as local infrastructure collapses with the number of asylum seekers arriving just before the festivities (Pictured: Migrants who have been processed and released in the US await at an El Paso community center on December 17)
Opponents of Title 42 suffered a blow Friday when a federal appeals court rejected a request by 19 Republican attorneys general to extend the policy.
Pending Supreme Court action, border security advocates are running out of resources to stop Wednesday’s expiration of Title 42.
As of Sunday morning, no such appeal has been filed with the high court.
El Paso Mayor Oscar Leeser said Saturday that his city expects an “incredible” number of migrants in the coming days and expressed concern for their well-being in announcing his emergency declaration.
“I really believe that today our asylum seekers are not safe as we have hundreds and hundreds on the streets,” Leeser said during a news conference.
Approximately 2,500 migrants have crossed into El Paso daily for the past week, according to ABC, even before Title 42 ends.
Officials reportedly fear as many as 18,000 undocumented people could cross the southern border into the US per day after Wednesday.