Texas Democrat Border County Judge Invites Biden to Visit Before Title 42 Decision

A Democrat border county judge in Texas invited President Joe Biden to visit his region before making a decision on Title 42 and related policies. The Texas politician had largely avoided commenting on the heated border issues even though his county is one of the hardest hit by the current migration crisis.

This week, Judge Richard Cortez sent a letter to the White House inviting President Biden to visit his area and explaining that Hidalgo County is “at a unique crossroads of national security and economic considerations.”

In the letter, Cortez “implored” Biden to visit the border before going along with the recent determination from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that Title 42 was no longer necessary. Title 42 allowed the U.S. government to turn back asylum seekers and migrants because of the Coronavirus pandemic.

“We bear the responsibility of welcoming, treating, and caring for these migrants even as we struggle to care for the less fortunate in our community,” Cortez wrote. “The negative consequences are expected to be real and immediate for American Citizens living in border communities across the Southwest.”

According to Cortez, Hidalgo County was “particularly impacted by COVID-19.” In the letter, he explained that for many months during the pandemic, healthcare facilities were operating at maximum capacity and the region suffered serious “economic disruptions.”

Cortez’s letter comes weeks after McAllen Mayor Javier Villalobos (R) sounded the alarm about how the end of Title 42 would exponentially increase the number of migrants and asylum seekers released into his city.

Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com. 

Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.