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By Rep. Jerry Carl

Earlier this month, I joined about 50 of my House Republican colleagues on a letter to United States Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas expressing our serious concern over the Biden administration’s attempts to end Title 42 expulsions just a few days before Christmas. Ending Title 42 would have devastating impacts on our border communities, on our law enforcement, and on our national security. Title 42 has been an effective tool enabling us to expel migrants and lower congestion at the border.

In the week before our letter was sent, the El Paso Border Patrol Sector alone saw an average of more than 2,400 migrants in a single day. The City of El Paso had record numbers of migrants in Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) custody and record numbers of community releases. Surges in numbers like these are not surprising since the Biden administration has been hard at work removing border security measures such as the Remain in Mexico policy. Now, they want to make it even worse by ending Title 42. We cannot allow this to happen.

Soon after our letter was sent, we got some good news from Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts when he put a last-minute hold on ending Title 42. This hold is pending a lawsuit on a case brought forward by 19 states, including Texas and Arizona. Title 42 could now stay in effect for months if the Supreme Court takes up the case, but the future is uncertain.

While the future of Title 42 is uncertain, it is just one of many tools we can use to secure our border. That’s why next week, the new House Republican majority will hit the ground running with commonsense solutions to secure our border, stop the flow of deadly fentanyl into our communities, end the immigration crisis, and hold the Biden administration accountable for its reckless mismanagement of the border.

Since President Biden took office, there have been over 4 million illegal immigrants attempt to cross the border. This is a humanitarian crisis and it must end immediately. We can do this by finishing the wall, properly funding ICE and border patrol, giving law enforcement the tools they need to keep us safe, and investing in cutting-edge technology.

Americans want a secure border and safer communities, and House Republicans will make this a top priority on day one when we take the gavel out of Nancy Pelosi’s hands on January 3, 2023.