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Rep. Val Demings, D-Fla., says she supports the Biden administration’s move to end the Title 42 public health order that has been used to expel a majority of migrants at the border — in contrast to other moderate Democrats who have warned it will lead to an influx of migrants at the border.
Demings was asked at an event at the Women’s National Democratic Club in Washington D.C. on Tuesday about whether she supported the Biden administration’s decision to end Title 42 in May.
BIDEN ADMINISTRATION TO LIFT TITLE 42 AT END OF MAY, DESPITE FEARS OF LOOMING MIGRANT WAVE
The Centers for Disease Control order was implemented in March 2020 by the Trump administration in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and allows for the rapid removal of migrants at the southern border. It has been mostly kept in place by the Biden administration, but last week the CDC announced it will be lifted in May, raising immediate concerns about it sparking a new surge in migrants.
Demings said that the order was implemented as COVID-19 numbers were increasing and said that “it makes sense that, if it was imposed with the excuse that we were watching the COVID numbers that were out control, then if we’re still watching the numbers and I know we are all in all communities that it would be lifted when COVID is more under control.”
July 29, 2020: file photo, Rep. Val Demings, D, Fla., speaks during a House Judiciary subcommittee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington.(Mandel Ngan/Pool via AP) ((Mandel Ngan/Pool via AP))
“So, there, I support the lifting of it because the COVID numbers have gone way down, because we’ve done the responsible thing, we’ve gotten our vaccinations and our boosters,” she said in video of the event seen by Fox News, adding that she would be double boosted by the end of the week.
Demings’ said she had spoken with Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, who she said told lawmakers that the border can accommodate about 3,500 people a day but are currently processing around 7,000. She emphasized the question of staffing at the border.
62,000+ ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS GOT PAST BORDER PATROL AGENTS IN MARCH: SOURCES
“And so we talked about staffing because the asylum seekers by law, as I said, if you’re fleeing from violence and fleeing from abuse you have a right to seek asylum and be processed in the United States, so we have to focus on our staffing and get those staffing numbers up so we can deal with the people at the border, give them the justice they need.”
Demings is running against Sen. Marco Rubio in the Florida Senate race, and her position is in contrast to moderate Democrats in the Senate who have opposed the Biden move to end Title 42.
Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., called the move to end the order “frightening” and has said he supports making Title 42 permanent. Other Democrats, including Sens. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., and Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., have said that they do not support the ending of Title 42 until there is a sufficient plan in place.
On Thursday a bipartisan group of senators that included Manchin, Kelly and Sinema, along with Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., and Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., introduced a bill that would prevent the Biden administration from ending Title 42 until 60 days after the COVID-19 national emergency declaration ends. It would also require the administration to submit a plan to Congress to address the impact of a post-Title 42 migrant influx.
Rubio’s campaign, in a statement to Fox News Digital, accused Demings of standing with the left of the Democratic Party on the issue.
“Val Demings’ support for ending the key provision standing between the United States and an unprecedented border surge proves she stands with the radical, pro-illegal immigration left-wing,” Elizabeth Gregory, communications director for the Rubio campaign, said.
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“As Demings says, ‘you can make your mouth say anything,’ but it’s your actions that count, and Demings consistently votes in favor of Democrats’ radical illegal immigration agenda,” she said. “Floridians are sure to remember her numerous votes against border security in November.”