Title 42 expiration renews immigration debate in Washington

The recent lifting of asylum restrictions at the U.S. border with Mexico has amped up the immigration debate in Washington, though lawmakers appear to be a long way from taking action.

Since the pandemic-related policy known as Title 42 ended Friday, meaning the U.S. could no longer quickly turn back migrants at the border, the White House and congressional Democrats have begun discussing immigration reforms once again. Republicans are focusing on border security while their previous threats to impeach Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas still loom.

Mayorkas said Sunday that he’s yet to talk immigration policy with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).

“We have been calling on Congress to pass legislation to fix what everyone agrees is a broken immigration system,” Mayorkas told CNN’s “State of the Union.” “We have been asking for that for more than two decades.”

He noted President Biden proposed immigration legislation at the start of his term — with measures including a new “pathway to citizenship” for millions and steps to cut red tape for asylum seekers — though it’s gone nowhere in Congress.

“The proposal right now, what we are asking for and we are really in need of desperately as a country, is immigration reform to fix the system, not to dismantle it,” Mayorkas said.

House Republicans on Friday passed sweeping legislation to crack down on border security. Measures include bringing back Trump-era construction of a border wall and the so-called “Remain in Mexico” policy of housing migrants in detention centers or requiring them to seek asylum from south of the border. The bill is viewed as dead on arrival in the Democrat-controlled Senate.

“I’m still hopeful that there are rational Democrats out there who will work with us on some of these provisions. I don’t think the whole bill is going to pass,” Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Tex.), chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday.

Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) echoed those remarks.

“We’re still trying to figure out some side pieces of immigration policy overall because Democrats would never work with us on commonsense immigration policies,” he told “Fox News Sunday.”

Democrats might make headway with some Republicans by focusing on the economics of immigration, said Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.).

“I do think there are a group of Republicans in the Senate who recognize that we have this massive labor shortage,” he told NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

”There is an ability to help the American economy by letting more people into the country legally,” Murphy added. “So I wouldn’t be surprised if you see some discussions begin in the Senate in the wake of the House action last week to try to find some common ground on immigration reform.”

Meanwhile, GOP investigations over Mayorkas’ handling of the border continue. McCarthy and other Republicans pols previously called on him to step down, with far-right lawmakers saying he should be impeached.

Rep. Mark Green (R-Tenn.) accused Mayorkas of “dereliction of duty” but stopped short of calling for his impeachment.

“We’re going to look very closely at the failures of this administration and Secretary Mayorkas,” he said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

Mayorkas has repeatedly refused to step down.

Asked about calls for him to be impeached, he told CNN, “I am focused on the work of the Department of Homeland Security. I will continue to focus on that work throughout my tenure.”

With News Wire Services