White House COVID-19 response leader Dr. Anthony Fauci could not answer why the Omicron variant screening process for individuals arriving lawfully to the United States is different than the process for those arriving unlawfully at the southern border. Fauci claimed it was a “different issue.” Why he views these two groups differently is unclear, but what is clear is that COVID remains rampant at the southern border with virtually non-existent mitigation protocols in place.
The Biden administration is reportedly planning to end a Trump-era rule that used COVID-19 as a means to curb illegal immigration. Title 42 is a little-known public health provision invoked by the Trump administration in March 2020 which allowed the U.S. to promptly remove migrants caught crossing the border illegally to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. In February, 55 percent of the 164,973 migrants apprehended by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) were removed under Title 42.
FAIR President Dan Stein’s published opinion piece in Townhall:
House Speaker Mike Johnson and a delegation of 64 Republican lawmakers began the new year with a visit to Eagle Pass, Texas, along our lawless southern border. According to recent polls, 70 percent of Americans – including 55 percent of Democrats – believe that “stricter policies” are needed to end the humanitarian, fiscal and national security crises on our borders that they see as a direct result of Biden administration policies.