Democratic Sens. Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Kelly of Arizona urged President Joe Biden against lifting a public health directive used to close the border to asylum-seekers until the administration has a plan in place to process migrants’ claims.
Their position, outlined in a Thursday evening letter, puts them at odds with their fellow Democrats, who have recently ramped up calls for the administration to rescind the border directive known as Title 42.
Implemented by the Trump administration in March 2020 at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Title 42 allows border agents to rapidly “expel” migrants who cross the border without first considering their claims for asylum and other protection.
