White House insists end of Title 42 doesn’t mean border is open, says doubters do the work of ‘the smugglers’
Title 42 #Title42
19 states file emergency appeal with Supreme Court to keep Title 42 in place
SHARE
SHARE
TWEET
SHARE
What to watch next
‘Simultaneously beautiful and terrifying’: Expert explains what happens when you flush
CNN
Supreme Court orders temporary stay of Title 42
NBC News
Bankman-Fried to agree to extradition following chaotic hearing
NBC News
Mulvaney: This criminal referral should frighten Trump most
CNN
‘Only thing that matters is winning,’ Trump allegedly said
BBC News
Jan. 6 panel recommends House Ethics committee investigates 4 GOP members
USA TODAY
MTP NOW Dec. 19 — Jan. 6th Committee recommends criminal charges for Pres. Trump
NBC News
Patriot missiles to Ukraine would be ‘significant upgrade in capability’: fmr. U.S. commander
NBC News
Attorney: FTX founder agrees to extradition to U.S.
The Associated Press
Key takeaways from the House Jan. 6 committee’s final public meeting
CBS News
Full Panel: The Republican Party needs ‘to acknowledge that this was an insurrection’
NBC News
Ukrainian Soldiers Dressed As St. Nicholas Surprise Families With Gifts
Newsweek
‘The one thing’ GOP ‘won’t tolerate’ is Trump’s losing, fmr. GOP congressman says
NBC News
Jan. 6 Committee’s final message: Trump is ’is unfit for any office’
NBC News
What Trump’s criminal referral means and what’s next
The Washington Post
Benoit Blanc is back in ‘Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery’
CNN
Click to expand
UP NEXT
Cities along the U.S.-Mexico border are bracing for the end of Title 42, a pandemic-era immigration restriction set to expire this week, but the White House insists this doesn’t mean the border will be open.
The expiration of Title 42 loomed large over Monday’s White House press conference, with press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre repeatedly appearing to dodge questions about the long-term implications.
“I want to be very clear here. The fact is that the removal of Title 42 does not mean the border is open,” Jean-Pierre said. “Anyone who suggests otherwise is simply doing the work of these smugglers who, again, are spreading misinformation which is very dangerous.”
Title 42, a public health rule in place since March 2020, has been used to deter migrants more than 2.5 million times and will expire Wednesday. Border cities have been scrambling to secure state and federal aid as daily new arrivals could double from 2,400 and temperatures are set to drop below freezing. El Paso, Texas, declared a state of emergency over the border late last week. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has declared an invasion, and several of the state’s counties near the border had already declared states of emergency, all due to the historic numbers of illegal crossings.
WHITE HOUSE INSISTS IT IS PREPARING FOR TITLE 42 EXPIRATION, WON’T SAY HOW
Jean-Pierre said the Biden administration will go back to Title 8, which mandates that any illegal immigrant present in the United States “without being admitted or paroled, or who arrives in the United States at any time or place other than as designated by the Attorney General, is inadmissible.”
READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP
“Those who do not have a legal basis to remain will be quickly removed,” Jean-Pierre said. “And so we will continue to fully enforce our immigration laws in a fair, orderly and humane manner.”
Jean-Pierre reiterated her critiques of Republican lawmakers’ supposed failure to work with Democrats on comprehensive immigration reform. A reporter noted that a Democratic-majority Congress “resulted in virtually no change in immigration policy” and asked how things would be any easier with Republicans in charge.
“We asked for the $3.5 billion. We’re going to continue to ask Congress … especially Congressional Republicans … to help us with what’s going on at the border if they are indeed serious about doing that,” Jean-Pierre said.
Asked again whether President Biden intended to visit the border – something he has yet to do as president – Karine Jean-Pierre said, “the president’s focus right now is to make sure that we have the resources to manage what’s happening right now.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for additional comment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.