The political war between Democrats and Republicans over immigration issues continues, as Indian-American Vice-President Kamala Harris claimed the end of Title 42 is 'going rather smoothly' despite Republican border governors dropping off migrants near her own home and thousands more remaining stuck in processing.
Harris attended a fundraiser for the Democratic Party of Georgia during the weekend in the wealthy Atlanta suburb of Buckhead, the third time she's visited the swing state this year.
Responding to criticism about the border crisis, Harris said that from everything she's heard, the issue is apparently fine.
“I hear that everything in the last couple of days is going rather smoothly given what the concerns were,” Harris said. “The issue of immigration falls squarely within the responsibility of the United States Congress. We've done what we can but the Congress must pass legislation.”
Texas governor Greg Abbott delivered another busload of illegal immigrants to Harris’ home in Washington, DC yesterday.
Immigration and visa reform is a major re-election plank for the Democratic Biden-Harris ticket, with the administration announcing several measures to make the immigration process easier and more transparent, as well as seeking to end the country quote for green cards. This applies to the asylum laws as well.
Title 42 refers to coronavirus restrictions on asylum that have allowed the US to quickly turn back migrants at the US-Mexico border for the past three years. The authority comes from a 1944 public health law allowing curbs on migration in the name of protecting public health.
Title 42 measures were enacted by the Trump administration in 2020, and were enforced over 2.8 million times in the next three years. President Joe Biden initially kept Title 42 in place after he took office, but his administration announced in January that it was ending national COVID-19 emergencies, and so the border restrictions have now gone away.
The end of Title 42 has reportedly led to overcrowding at the Border Patrol's Central Processing Facility in El Paso, with Fox News reporting the building, with a capacity of 1,000, had over 6,000 jammed inside.
Last week, at least 70 migrants were dropped off on Harris' doorstep in Washington DC. Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott has sent at least 17,000 migrants from Texas to Washington, DC, New York City, Chicago and Philadelphia since April 2022. Over 9,200 have been sent to DC, and Abbott defended the move, saying it was designed to share the burden.