Dusty Johnson’s Weekly Column: Ending Title 42 is a Huge Mistake

The United States Customs and Border Protection (USCBP) announced the border numbers for April this week. Last month, there were 234,088 illegal crossings at our southern border. This is the worst month on record.

April’s numbers are up 30% from 2021 and 1,268% since 2022. This is appalling. Since President Biden took office, there have been over 2.6 MILLION illegal immigrants apprehended at our border. Nearly half of those have been just in the past six months.

Regardless of these historic numbers, President Biden has not waivered on his decision to end Title 42. It remains to be lifted on Monday, the 23^rd—just three days from now. We can all agree that the public health crisis has turned the corner, however, the Administration has no plan in place to secure our border. Should this policy be lifted, encounters at the border are expected to more than double what they currently are, reaching 7,000-8,000 per day. USCBP agents will not be able to keep up with this influx of migrants.

I know how much of a security threat this poses, which is why I support the Public Health and Border Security Act, which would prohibit the President from lifting Title 42 until 60 days after it has formally ended the COVID-19 public health emergency declaration. The Department of Health and Human Services in conjunction with the Department of Homeland Security would then have 30 days to create a plan to address the surge of migrants at our borders.

A Morning Consult poll shows that majority of Americans disapprove of Biden’s repeal of Title 42. I know that this sentiment is shared by many South Dakotans. I have urged the President and the Department of Homeland Security to reimplement the “Remain in Mexico” policy and to follow the laws already passed by Congress to finish the wall.

We must secure our border.

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