President Joe Biden is woefully unprepared for an impending surge of illegal immigration at the United States-Mexico border where daily migrant encounters are projected to outpace daily U.S. births, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) says.
Last month, a federal judge struck down Title 42 — the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) authority first imposed by former President Trump in 2020 that has helped stem waves of illegal immigration.
The Biden administration quickly asked the court for five weeks to end Title 42, ensuring that the authority will be lifted on December 21. While Biden’s Department of Justice (DOJ) is now appealing the decision, they are not seeking to keep Title 42 in place.
Experts project that daily migrant encounters will range anywhere from 9,000 to 14,000 when Title 42 ends in days. This indicates that the daily total of border crossers apprehended, not included those who successfully cross, could outpace the daily fewer than 11,000 U.S. births.
In a letter to top Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials, Hawley writes that the Biden administration is seemingly unprepared for such record-setting levels of illegal immigration.
“I write with concern over recent reports warning of the coming surge in illegal immigration as Title 42 is set to expire,” Hawley writes. “… it appears your department has not taken any meaningful steps to prepare for the coming surge in illegal immigration.”
Hawley notes that Blas Nuñez-Neto, Biden’s Acting Assistant Secretary for Border and Immigration Policy, testified in May that Americans will “see a decrease [in encounters]” along the border when Title 42 ends. No such projections, even by the Biden administration, have echoed that claim.
“… as this authority is set to expire, your prediction has proven wrong,” Hawley writes:
Migrants are lining up in droves at the southern border in anticipation of Title 42’s expiration. A new report states that your department projects seeing 9,000 to 14,000 illegal immigrant encounters per day after Title 42 authority expires. It also states that this is more than double the current number of daily crossings. [Emphasis added]
This week, the Washington Times reported that the Biden administration is having Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents make fewer arrests of criminal illegal aliens in American cities and towns to free up detention space for the looming illegal immigration wave.
Biden’s existing plan for Title 42’s end will use American taxpayer money to fund additional non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to more quickly release border crossers and illegal aliens into American communities away from the border.
Without Title 42, Biden officials have admitted that up to half a million border crossers and illegal aliens — the equivalent of the population of Atlanta, Georgia — could arrive at the border every month.
Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) told Breitbart News in April that he expects 30,000 border crossers and illegal aliens every day at the border without Title 42. In Tijuana, Mexico, alone, Breitbart News exclusively reported months ago that up to 6,000 foreign nationals were waiting to rush the border when Title 42 ends.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here.