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With the Biden administration set to lift the Title 42 public health order that allows for expedited removal of migrants due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, is calling on Washington to pay attention to the reality at the border.
Cuellar, whose district includes part of the southern border, is one of a number of Democrats who oppose President Biden‘s decision, and he told “Fox News Sunday” that it could have serious repercussions.
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“They’re listening to the immigration activists, but my question is who is listening to the men and women in green and in blue, and more importantly who’s listening to the border communities, the sheriffs, the landowners, the rest of the people who live on the border,” Cuellar said.
Cuellar said he was recently speaking with people who live near the border and they were “very concerned” about Title 42 being lifted.
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“We need to listen to the border communities,” Cuellar said.
The congressman justified his constituents’ concerns, asserting that “this message of lifting Title 42 is going to go straight to the criminal organizations.”
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Earlier in the interview, Cuellar pointed out that 60% of Border Patrol officers were not even working in the field at the border itself, but at border processing centers.
“It’s like having a school and we’re only teaching with 40% of the teachers and the other 60% are not teaching,” Cuellar said. “That’s what we’re seeing except it’s in law enforcement. So what we’re seeing is large numbers coming in, the messages are going out to the smugglers and to migrants that on May 23 you can go ahead and come in, and Border Patrol is only working with 40% of its men and women.”