On Tuesday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “Jose Diaz-Balart Reports,” Rep. Tony Cardenas (D-CA) responded to concerns over an influx at the border if Title 42 is lifted by stating that “we have had influxes at times of people fleeing persecution, but the United States has been the bedrock of the place around the world where we can accept people.”
Host Jose Diaz-Balart asked, “Tell us the reason that Title 42 should be removed, and what about those that say, well, this could cause an unprecedented number [of] people coming over the border?”
Cardenas responded, “Title 42 was an excuse to keep people out of our country. It’s simply this, right now, today, we have protocols, we have vaccines, we have testing, we have quarantine protocols as well. So, anybody coming to our country, seeking asylum should be accepted into the process and given their due process. That means that we have protocols to make sure that they are safe and every American will continue to be safe.”
He continued, “And this ‘influx’ is something that if you look past across our American history, we have had influxes at times of people fleeing persecution, but the United States has been the bedrock of the place around the world where we can accept people. They become part of our country, a positive part of our country. And the only way that we have maintained to be the number one economy in the world is because we have accepted good, hard-working immigrants to be part of this great country. So, we should continue to do that. This administration, the president himself said that he’s going to be looking forward to lifting Title 42. They have to do it responsibly. We made a commitment that we’re going to continue to get resources to the administration to do it responsibly and humanely, and that’s what we’re going to do. We have our homework to do in Congress, and the president and his team are ready to continue to do what’s right.”
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