White House blames Trump and Republicans for the chaos at the border

President Joe Biden’s administration blames Donald Trump and Republicans for the expected chaos at the border when Title 42 ends next week, but assured Americans it has a “six-point plan” to handle the massive influx of immigrants. .

Authorities warn that the number of migrants crossing daily into the US from Mexico could reach 14,000 a day when the pandemic-era removal policy, Title 42, ends just days before Christmas on January 21. December.

Some border cities have already been flooded. The Biden administration has pressured Congress to pass a federal budget that will help manage the influx.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre accused Republicans on Thursday of playing “political tricks” with the situation at the border and of being unwilling to help fix the problem.

“Many Republicans say over and over again that we need to do at the border that we need to secure the border, yet they still refuse to work with us on this legislation,” he said.

Earlier this week, House Republicans unveiled their border plan for when they take control of the House next month. It includes several border security initiatives, including completing construction of Trump’s border wall and requiring the Department of Homeland Security to detain or turn away migrants arriving at the border.

However, Jean-Pierre also blamed the Trump administration for the border problems, saying Biden was allowed to fix a “system established” by his White House predecessor. The Trump administration originally enacted Title 42.

She pointed to a six point plan published by the Department of Homeland Securitywhich is in charge of border security, as evidence of the administration’s preparations.

The plan includes hiring nearly 1,000 Border Patrol processing coordinators and adding 2,500 contractors and government agency personnel.

The Biden administration is asking Congress for more than $3 billion in federal funds to help with the crisis.

“We are going to do this in a safe and humane way,” Jean-Pierre said of the crisis. He also pointed out that the courts were ordering the administration to end Title 42.

A federal judge last month blocked the use of the authority, which since the start of the coronavirus pandemic has allowed officials to turn away migrants at the US-Mexico border.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have called on the administration to find a way to extend the order amid concerns the country is not ready for the influx.

“We have an intensive whole-of-government effort underway to prepare,” Jean-Pierre said in response to the concerns.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas traveled this week to El Paso, Texas, which saw a large crowd on Sunday.

El Paso has become a top destination for illegal crossings.

Detention centers and shelters in the border city were overwhelmed after an influx of asylum seekers over the weekend forced thousands of migrants onto the streets.

The situation there, fueled by large numbers of arriving Venezuelans and, more recently, Nicaraguans, has officials concerned that it could be a foretaste of things to come next week when Title 42 ends.

Many migrants wait on the Mexican side of the border for the policy to end.

Many of them have stayed in NGO shelters and on the streets of Ciudad Jaurez, Mexico, across the river from El Paso.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has so far transported more than 10,000 immigrants out of his state through his Operation Lone Star project, which he says is to highlight the influx of illegal immigrants crossing the US border.

The COVID-era Title 42 policy allowed law enforcement officials 2 million times to immediately expel asylum seekers back to Mexico without prosecution amid the public health emergency.

This expedited the process and also prevented Customs and Border Protection (CBP) from releasing immigrants into the US to await immigration proceedings.

Several Republican-led states have countersuited in court to try to keep Title 42 in place.

Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar, who represents a district that spans much of the southern Texas border, told CNN that the Biden administration does not understand the urgency of the immigration crisis. He also said he doesn’t understand why President Joe Biden doesn’t just visit the border and shut down detractors.

“I don’t know why they keep avoiding the border and saying that there are other things that are more important than investing in the border,” Cuéllar said. ‘If there’s a crisis, introduce yourself. Just show yourself.

Cuéllar pointed out that there is a backlog of 1.9 million cases in the immigration courts, which would take several years to resolve.

At the same time, Border Patrol is releasing at least hundreds of migrants daily into the US due to an inability to detain them while they await immigration proceedings and the processing of their asylum claims.