Keep Title 42 in Place

Floor Speech

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Mrs. MILLER-MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address the ongoing crisis on our border with Mexico.

Last week, the CDC announced they would officially rescind their title 42 order on May 23. Title 42 is an important tool for DHS to help mitigate the potential spread of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases.

Title 42 health restrictions should be in place until we have border security. Given the number of crossings we are seeing, we are far from having a secure border.

CBP is encountering more than 5,500 migrants daily. Some reports indicate that there could be upward of 18,000 migrants per day encountered when title 42 is lifted next month. To put this in perspective, President Obama's Secretary of Homeland Security, Jeh Johnson, stated in his tenure that 1,000 apprehensions a day would be considered a bad day.

Over a year ago, I introduced my first piece of legislation, the REACT Act, which would require DHS to test all migrants illegally crossing our border for COVID-19.

It is time to work in a bipartisan manner to secure our border; halt illegal drugs and human trafficking; support law enforcement; and ensure the safety of all of our communities.

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