Oklahoma Delegation Reacts To Biden Administration's Plans To End Title 42

In just over two weeks, the Biden administration is planning to end the use of what's known at Title 42 at the southern border. Republicans, and especially some of Oklahoma's congressional delegation, have been warning that this is a mistake.

Title 42 is a public health policy that the Trump administration imposed early in the pandemic, allowing border control authorities to turn away the majority of asylum-seekers, based on the the judgment by infectious disease experts that they might cause greater spread of COVID-19.

Earlier this year, the Centers for Disease Control concluded The use of Title 42 was no longer warranted at the administration announced it would be lifted on May 23.

“Title 42, I’ve been fighting its lifting on the southern border since December of last year,” said Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) in an interview Wednesday.

Sen. Lankford had been a critic of the administration's border policies before this, pointing to the record number of migrants trying to illegally enter the country since President Biden took office. Now, with the administration itself admitting that lifting Title 42 is likely to lead to an even greater surge of migrants at the border, Lankford is saying 'wait.'

“What we have said is, we understand Title 42 is not forever,” said Lankford, “but you’ve got to have some plan to put in place to be able to replace it.”