April 15, 2022 |
Wyoming has joined 20 other states challenging the Biden administration’s revocation of Title 42 border control measures. These Trump-era border policies helped reduce the flow of illegal immigration at the United States-Mexico border.
Joe Biden is ending COVID-19 expulsions of illegal Third World border-crossers while extending mask mandates for American citizens traveling on domestic air flights.
Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon said in a statement yesterday that the president is not living up to his constitutional duty to protect the border.
Last fall, Wyoming Governor Gordon visited the southern border and joined 25 other governors in releasing 10 policy solutions that the Biden administration could enact immediately to stem the invasion. Among the solutions was a continuation of the Title 42 orders. The governors consider the rule an effective tool at limiting border crossings and supporting public health.
Since October, the Border Patrol has apprehended nearly 150,000 single adults from Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and Colombia. Instead of a speedy expulsion from the country, they will now be allowed to seek asylum.
Governor Gordon said in a statement Thursday, “The Biden administration’s continued failure to fulfill its Constitutional duty and secure our border impacts all Americans.”
Title 42 was implemented in March 2020 as a response to the coronavirus pandemic, and while conditions have improved, the virus continues to pose a threat with new data showing a spike in infections due to the BA.2 variant.
In yesterday’s statement, the Wyoming governor also said, “When the federal government does not fulfill its responsibilities, states are compelled to take legal action to protect their residents from the impacts of this border crisis. Wyoming will stand by our fellow states to protect our borders.”
The lawsuit calls the termination of the Title 42 order, “an imminent, man-made, self-inflicted calamity: the abrupt elimination of the only safety valve preventing this Administration’s disastrous border policies from devolving into unmitigated chaos and catastrophe.”
The lawsuit calls attention to the fact that some of the administration’s most ardent supporters also question the president’s decision to suspend Title 42. Among them is Texas Democrat, Representative Henry Cuellar.
Pictured above: File photo of U.S.-Mexican border.
Cuellar is one of at least 11 Democrats in Congress, including three senators, to break with Biden on the issue.
The defendants named in the lawsuit are CDC, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Immigration and Customs and the U.S. Department of Justice—along with each of their directors. Joe Biden is also named as a defendant in his capacity as president.
The 66-page lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana. The 21 plaintiff states are asking the court to vacate the termination order.
