North Texas Republican Says US To ‘Open The Gates’ Once Title 42 Expires
Congressman Keith Self also calls the effort to send 1,500 troops to the border a “PR move.”
TEXAS, USA — Editor’s note: This interview was conducted on Thursday, May 4, 2023.
Texas communities along the Mexico border are preparing for the end of the pandemic-era public health immigration policy known as Title 42, which allowed authorities to quickly deport migrants at the border due to COVID-19 .
Title 42 is set to expire on May 11, and North Texas Republican Congressman Keith Self expects a surge of people to try to cross the border.
“Once it expires, I think we will see people who make the decision to come. We will open the gates if this expires with no more stock than we have seen,” Self said on Inside Texas Politics.
El Paso has declared a state of emergency in anticipation of an expected influx of migrants, many of whom have reportedly camped out on sidewalks and crowded shelters in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, which is directly across the border from the Texas city.
The Biden administration has promised to increase deportations and is also sending 1,500 active-duty soldiers to the southern border to assist immigration authorities once Title 42 expires.
But those service members, who will be deployed for 90 days, will not have any law enforcement duties and will not be able to detain or process the migrants.
Self calls it nothing more than a PR move.
“They’re going down there armed with pencils and pens,” the Republican told us. “Hopefully, this will help some border agents do their job.”
The congressman also told us about a recent letter he sent to President Biden opposing the administration’s proposed electric vehicle (EV) policy that regulates tailpipe emissions and is part of the administration’s goal to require that at least half of all new vehicles will be electric by 2030 .
Also signed by 32 other members of Congress, the letter urges the president to consider the “devastating consequences” that the policy would have on American producers and consumers.
“This is a feel-good policy that will allow wealthy progressives to feel good about their electric vehicles. But most of the electricity, even in their electric vehicles, will be produced from fossil fuels,” the Republican said.
Congressman Self tells us he has yet to receive a response from the Biden administration.
