Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is warning that the end of Title 42 will likely bring an escalation of the "unprecedented chaos" at the southern border.
In a statement to Timcast News, Paxton said that "there are no words that can fully describe the heavy human toll and financial costs of the Biden Administration’s border policy, or lack thereof."
"Joe Biden has intentionally and deliberately attempted to use the levers of the federal government to systematically dismantle countless border security measures, and his Administration’s decision to end Title 42 is no different," Paxton continued. "As long as Joe Biden is in office, drug cartels, human traffickers, and violent criminals will continue to take advantage of this Administration’s decision to open our borders for all to come in."
Since March 2020, coronavirus restrictions have allowed for migrants to be turned back at the border due to Title 42 of a 1944 public health law. This was enacted to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Before Title 42 was in place, migrants could cross the border illegally, request asylum, then be released into the nation until their case could be heard. Since being enacted, more than 2.8 million migrants were turned away at the border.
Paxton warned that "because Title 42 is ending, the unprecedented chaos is likely going to escalate, as Texans have already witnessed in recent days. As I’ve been doing since the beginning of Joe Biden’s disastrous Administration, I will continue to find ways to challenge Biden in court and work relentlessly to defend the people of Texas from the federal government’s lawless policies."
Biden had attempted to end the Title 42 restrictions in 2022, but after facing lawsuits from Republicans, the courts opted to keep the rule in place.
On Thursday at 11:59 p.m. EDT, the Title 42 restrictions will end. NEW: Thousands of Haitians have gathered in the Mexican border city of Reynosa, across from McAllen, TX, ahead of Title 42’s expiration at midnight. Here, they are being informed about the changes that will take place after Title 42 is no longer in effect. pic.twitter.com/0gZwOBZU9X Happening now: Approximately 15,000 Haitians are about 50 miles from the border outside McAllen, Texas.#Title42
— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) May 11, 2023
— Rebecca Brannon (@RebsBrannon) May 11, 2023
The line to enter the U.S. is only growing after the sun is up here in Yuma. The end of Title 42 is coming at 9pm local time. pic.twitter.com/0VmLiqU6Cv
— Adam Klepp (@FOX9AdamKlepp) May 11, 2023
Thousands of migrants are already waiting near the border to make their way across.
