Sen. Sinema: Biden Administration had two years to prepare for Title 42 end
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema criticized the White House for failing to provide an adequate policy in anticipation of Title 42s expiration in the past two years.
Arizona Independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema attacked the White House on Sunday for doing nothing regarding the border crisis despite having two years to plan for the Title 42 mandate to expire.
The pandemic-era policy, which originally allowed the U.S. to expel certain migrants as a health mandate, is set to expire on Thursday. Even with the policy in place, the Biden administration has faced record levels of illegal border crossing since taking office in Jan. 2021.
"Face the Nation" host Margaret Brennan spoke with Sinema on the border crisis as well as her proposed bill to continue a similar policy at the McCain Institute's Sedona Forum. As the expiration date draws closer, however, Sinema began criticizing the White House for its inaction.
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema discussed the border crisis on CBS "Face the Nation." (CBS)
"What you introduced was a temporary two-year authority to expel migrants with an exemption for asylum claims because of the immediate title 42 expiration," Brennan said.
TEXAS MAYOR SAYS CITY IS BRACING LIKE A ‘HURRICANE’ IS COMING AS TITLE 42 END LOOMS
"That’s a Band-Aid," Sinema responded. "The Biden administration had two years to prepare for this and did not do so. Our state is going to bear the brunt. Migrants will be in crisis as soon as next week. It will be a humanitarian crisis because we’re not prepared. The legislation we introduced yesterday is ability tiding this over, giving us time and space for the Biden administration to do their job and for us legislators to create a plan to get through the House and Senate."
Brennan remarked that the bill may not receive enough support from Congress to pass. Sinema remained optimistic, though remarked that the Department of Homeland Security and the federal government has yet to share information with her or border towns regarding what to expect after the end of Title 42.
A Border Patrol agent leads migrants to a temporary processing tent on May 4, 2023, in Brownsville, Texas. (Michael Gonzalez)
"What’s unfortunate is that I’m asking for that information, and I’m not getting it. So either the administration has that information and choosing not to share it, which is a problem since we’re the ones that are going to deal with the crisis, or they don’t have it and that’s even more concerning because how do you prepare for an inflow of migrants when you don’t know what you’re going to expect?" Sinema said.
She revealed that she contacted the White House directly about the matter. While she declined to share details regarding their conversation, she stated that it "has not been adequate."
"While it’s wonderful that the administration is announcing things like a 1,500-troop deployment and these processing centers which will not be operational by next Friday. Those are good things. They are aspirational. That’s not the same as operational. Rent the buses, hire the drivers, build the southside facilities to process individuals, we need more holding capacity. Let’s be realistic here, and we’re not prepared for that. That’s frustrating," Sinema said.
A U.S. Border Patrol agent checks for identification of immigrants as they wait to be processed after crossing the border from Mexico on Dec. 30, 2022, in Yuma, Arizona. (Qian Weizhong/VCG via Getty Images)
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas insisted multiple times that the border is not "open," but CBP sources recently told Fox News that they have already experienced about 8,000 encounters a day in the first week of May.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Based on numbers like this, Sinema criticized members of both parties for being disconnected from the problem for political reasons.
"I think that there’s a system in Washington, D.C., that is deeply disconnected from the real lives and experiences of border communities and the migrants who seek to come to this country. But what I would like, Margaret, is for them to learn," Sinema said.
Fox News First
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox.
By entering your email and clicking the Subscribe button, you agree to the Fox News Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, and agree to receive content and promotional communications from Fox News. You understand that you can opt-out at any time.