The White House warned Wednesday to expect a renewed surge of migrants crossing into the United States after President Joe Biden’s administration lifts Title 42 restrictions at the border.
“We have every expectation that when the CDC ultimately decides it’s appropriate to lift Title 42, there will be an influx of people to the border,” White House communications director Kate Bedingfield said to reporters during the daily press briefing.
Previous reporting has highlighted Biden officials’ behind the scenes estimate of more than 170,000 migrants entering the United States once Title 42 is ended.
Bedingfield insisted the decision to lift the Title 42 protections was a medical and public health decision that would be made by the Centers for Disease Control, not by immigration or national security officials.
She did not confirm or deny several reports that Title 42 would be lifted in late May.
“Of course we are planning for multiple contingencies,” she said.
The Title 42 restrictions, previously leveled by former President Donald Trump, allowed immigration officials to send border crossers back to their home countries for public health reasons, citing the coronavirus pandemic.
Bedingfield also said the Biden administration had worked steadily to bring more migrants, especially children, into the country.
Bedingfield blamed former President Donald Trump for dismantling government systems to allow more migrants to come into the country
“We were building from a place where a lot of these pieces have been torn down,” she said.
Bedingfeild said Biden would continue working with the Department of Homeland Security to handle the influx of migrants, but did not announce any major plans to discourage migrants from coming to the United States.
She also denied that President Joe Biden or any of his senior administration officials had pressured the CDC to leave the measure in place.