Texas leaders disagree over the possible end of Title 42

EL PASO, Texas (CBS4) — Restrictions related to COVID-19 at the southern border could soon be coming to an end, but some Texas leaders would like to see certain restrictions extended.

Title 42 has been in place since March 2020 and was put in place by the Trump Administration to slow the spread of the Coronavirus.

The emergency rule allowed US immigration officials to quickly expel migrants and asylum seekers.

The Biden Administration has received criticism over keeping the policy in place.

Officials on opposites sides of the aisle disagree on how to proceed.

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US Senator John Cornyn objects to the possible lifting of the asylum restriction.

"Title 42 is scheduled to expire unless it is extended. The border patrol tells me that if it expires without a plan being put into place to allow them to handle this volume of migrants, they will simply lose control of the border. There's only so much border patrol can do," he said. "Obviously, people coming from around the world, across our border, in many instances from hundreds of different counties, many of them, perhaps most of them, aren't vaccinated. They've not been tested for COVID-19."

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Meanwhile, El Paso Congresswoman Veronica Escobar has previously said it is time to lift Title 42.

"We don't need to use Title 42, I believe it is a family inhumane policy, it does more harm than good," she said at a press conference in late March.

According to US Customs and Border Protection, in the El Paso Region so far for fiscal year 2022 more than 57,000 people have been expelled by the use of Title 42.

The Department of Homeland Security says it has contingency plans if border patrol agents do become overwhelmed

The AP reports that the Biden Administration could lift Title 42 restriction by late May.

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