Wisconsin House Republicans help push border security bill to passage as Title 42 ends

WASHINGTON – Wisconsin House Republicans on Thursday helped their party pass a sweeping border security bill that attempts to crack down on immigration ahead of an expected surge in migrants at the southern border in the coming days.

All six of Wisconsin’s House Republicans voted to advance the legislation, which has no future in a Senate controlled by Democrats. The bill, dubbed by Republicans as the “Secure the Border Act,” passed on a 219-213 vote with two Republicans joining Democrats in opposition.

“It is time to restore the rule of law, and it’s time to restrain the dangerous impulses of this administration,” Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany said on the House floor ahead of the vote. “Americans are tired of the chaos. They deserve an immigration system that puts the safety and well-being of Americans first, and that’s exactly what this bill does.”

The legislation would reinstate a number of Trump-era policies, including restarting the construction of the wall at the southwestern border, as well as limiting asylum eligibility, increasing funding for border patrol agents and technology, and enhancing requirements for immigration status verification used by employers.

It includes a measure from Tiffany that aims to restrict immigrant parole, which allows some migrants to temporarily remain in the U.S.

The vote coincided with the expiration Thursday night of Title 42, a pandemic-era policy that allowed the United States to turn away migrants in an effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Lawmakers have argued the policy’s expiration will lead to a surge of migrants at the southern border that will overwhelm border officials and towns and cities nearby.

Democrats rename bill the 'Child Deportation Act'

Democrats are largely opposed to the Republican bill, renaming it the “Child Deportation Act.” The White House has said the measure would “make things worse, not better” and claimed it “does very little to actually increase border security while doing a great deal to trample on the Nation’s core values and international obligations.”

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries accused Republicans of creating a “fictional argument” around what’s happening at the border. Before the vote, Tiffany, who represents Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District, accused Democrats of wanting to “destroy the sovereignty of the United States of America,” during an interview with the far-right Real America’s Voice network.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan early Thursday afternoon called for more legal pathways to immigration and increased funding for United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, the agency that processes asylum claims.

“We need comprehensive immigration reform but their bill is just xenophobia,” Pocan wrote on Twitter of the House GOP measure.

And U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, a Milwaukee Democrat, said after the vote she was concerned the bill would “do little but create more chaos at the border while failing to prioritize the safety, well-being, and legal rights of vulnerable children.”

“While I oppose this bill, I remain committed to advocating for a fair and just immigration system that recognizes the contributions of immigrants, upholds American values, and humanely addresses the root causes driving people to our borders without punishing children or making it impossible to seek asylum,” Moore wrote in a lengthy statement.

Senator sees bill as a step toward a compromise

Still, as some Republicans call on the Senate to pass the bill, others on Capitol Hill see the House measure as a starting point toward crafting something that could eventually land on President Joe Biden’s desk.

North Carolina Republican U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis told reporters the House bill would not have the support to see a vote in the Senate but said the House “has done their work.” He added: “They’re putting something forward that we can build on… I think it’s a good foundation that will be absolutely an essential part of the border security strategy that will be in a bill that we can get 60 votes for.”

Arizona Independent U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, who caucuses with Democrats, criticized the Biden administration’s preparation for the end of Title 42 and said the House and Senate “must work together to get a bill to the president's desk.”

Wisconsin Republicans have put border security among their top issues despite representing a state more than 1,000 miles away, arguing illegal drugs like fentanyl are impacting communities in Wisconsin.

"It is the biggest facing America today, and I'm glad the Republicans were able to unite for a good, solid border bill," U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman told the Journal Sentinel after the vote.

U.S. Rep. Scott Fitzgerald on Thursday contended the ending of Title 42 “plays right into the hands of the cartels.”

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Thursday acknowledged the expected surge of migrants at the border as Title 42 expires but said the administration is “clear-eyed about the challenges we will face in the days and weeks ahead, and we are ready to meet them.”

“It will take time for those results to be fully realized,” Mayorkas said.

He added of Title 42’s expiration: “If anyone arrives at our southern border after midnight tonight, they will be presumed ineligible for asylum and subject to steeper consequences for unlawful entry, including a minimum 5-year ban on reentry and potential criminal prosecution,” Mayorkas said at a press conference.

Biden last week announced he would temporarily send 1,500 active-duty troops to the border to help deal with the expected surge. The troops will fill a request by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol for detection and monitoring, data entry and warehouse support over a 90-day period, according to Pentagon officials.

Asked about that move last week, Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin told the Journal Sentinel she “would generally favor that limited extra assistance on the southern border” and said sending the active-duty troops to the border “demonstrates that we are being as prepared as we can be.”

Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, however, called the administration’s move to send troops to the border a “tacit agreement that the border is a total disaster.”

“It’s window dressing,” Johnson said in a brief interview. “It’s Biden acknowledging for the first time the intercontinental problem here.”

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin House Republicans help push border security bill to passage