New Mexico State Rep. Jim Townsend (R-Artesia) made comments recently about the end of Title 42, the complications it could cause the immigration system and how it will affect New Mexicans.
“Before Title 42 expires [May 11], I wanted to thank all our border agents and staff, especially our Otero County Processing Center, for their tireless and thankless work on border security,”Townsend said Thursday in a news release. “Unfortunately, elected leaders from [President Joe] Biden to [Governor] Lujan Grisham have allowed this crisis to crescendo to what exists today."
Title 42 is a COVID-era policy whereby immigrants can be expelled from the U.S. without any consideration for asylum, outwardly in order to stop the spread of COVID, NBC News reported. It was adopted in 2020 under President Donald Trump, and has been kept going through the Biden administration, who have sought to end the policy.
"There are tools and opportunities to provide safety for our border communities and those crossing legally," Townsend said. "Despite these humanitarian concerns, progressives back an agenda of open borders that threaten not only the lives and security of Americans but also those vulnerable and fleeing migrants looking for better opportunities. America can do better."
The U.S. should welcome migrants "with a process and not open borders that proliferate human trafficking and force migrant families to begin their lives in the same crisis that they left their home country," the legislator said. “Facilities like the Otero County Processing Center provide critically needed jobs for our citizens and support the protection of our borders as well as the safety of the migrant population that is too often taken advantage of by criminals during times like these. [As Title 42 expires], we must immediately protect our borders and provide needed changes to our immigration policy. Our Border Patrol and ICE officers protect our citizens and our borders as well as the migrants, and I join many Americans and New Mexicans in thanking them for their selfless service.”
National border officials have said that they expect an increase in the number of immigrants at the southern border, something that some local New Mexican officials agree with, as Title 42 expired on May 11, KRQE reported.
However, with the end of Title 42, it is expected that the new border policy will be Title 8, which is a much stricter policy than Title 42, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Under Title 42, immigrants can come to the border, get expelled, then come back repeatedly. Under Title 8, immigrants who don't use the lawful pathways to enter the U.S. get a five-year ban from coming back into the U.S. and could face harsher punishments if they come back. Border officials are encouraging migrants to use the CBPOne App at the border in order to be legally processed.
Over the past year, New Mexico has seen a 77% increase in number of migrant encounters with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, as there have been 24,644 monthly encounters over the past year compared to 13,915 monthly encounters from this time last year, the Albuquerque Journal reported.
