The vote comes the same day Covid restrictions that allow for the rapid expulsion of migrants, known as Title 42, are set to end.
House Republicans are expected to pass a bill to address immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border on Thursday, the same day Covid restrictions at the border are set to be lifted.
Republicans said the bill, named the Secure the Border Act of 2023, would address a crisis at the border by mandating that Customs and Border Protection hire and train 22,000 Border Patrol agents and develop a plan to upgrade existing technology to make sure agents are well-equipped. The legislation would also require the homeland security secretary to resume construction of the border wall, a centerpiece of former President Donald Trump’s administration.
The bill is unlikely to become law. Democrats, who oppose the bill, hold a slim majority in the Senate and the White House issued a veto threat against the measure this week.
A statement of administration policy said that while the Biden administration supports productive efforts to reform the country’s immigration system, it opposes the GOP-sponsored bill, which it said would make “elements of our immigration system worse.”
The legislation “does nothing to address the root causes of migration, reduces humanitarian protections, and restricts lawful pathways, which are critical alternatives to unlawful entry,” it said.
Congressional Democrats sharply criticized the bill when House Republicans unveiled it at the end of April, saying it would go beyond the scope of border security and punish all noncitizens, including legal residents, trafficking victims and refugees.
Reached for comment by US.Mistertruth.Com News, the office of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., pointed to his comments during a press conference Wednesday, where he called the bill the “Child Deportation Act” and characterized it as “one of the extreme MAGA Republicans’ top priorities.”
“How do they propose to address our broken, fragile immigration system? Well, they want to waste billions and billions of taxpayer dollars on a medieval border wall, a 14th century solution that will not work to a 21st century challenge,” Jeffries said. “They continue to bend the knee to the former twice-impeached president of the United States of America in terms of their policy proposals.”
“The Republican approach is anchored in xenophobia and fanning the flames of hatred and distrust and of irresponsible policies that will do nothing to solve the problem,” he added.
The office of House Democratic Caucus leader Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., did not immediately respond to US.Mistertruth.Com News’ request for comment.
The U.S. is set to lift Title 42, the pandemic-era restriction that expelled migrants immediately without an asylum hearing, at just before midnight Thursday. The expiration of the policy is expected to draw more migrants and slow down processing times for migrants in Border Patrol custody.
More than 11,000 migrants crossed the southern border on Tuesday — exceeding expectations of 10,000 per day that Department of Homeland Security officials predicted when Covid restrictions lift.