Democrats running for reelection in the midterms are intensifying their fight against the Biden administration's decision to roll back a Trump-era immigration rule, going directly to the border and signing onto legislation that would block the Biden administration's actions in an escalation that could leave the party splintered on the issue before the midterms. While immigration advocates celebrated the decision to reverse Title 42, many moderate Democrats have sounded the alarm warning that lifting the policy without an adequate plan in place will lead to a rapid influx of migrants at the Southern border, something that Republicans will be quick to seize on the campaign trail. This week alone, two vulnerable Democrats Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire and Mark Kelly of Arizona toured or plan to tour the southern border, meeting with customs and border officials to get information on the ground about how Title 42 will impact communities there and show voters that they aren't running in lockstep with Biden. While both Hassan and Kelly have taken previous trips to the border, the visits come as concerns about the end of Title 42 have reached a fever pitch. Hassan, who serves on the Senate Homeland Security Committee, visited a centralized processing center in McAllen, Texas, as well as a port of entry and the area along the border in Nogales, Arizona, over the weekend. Kelly plans to visit Douglas port of entry in Arizona on Wednesday where he will also meet with local officials about the impact Title 42 could have. For Hassan, the trip only crystallized her worries over the Biden administration's immigration move. "My trip to the southern border reinforced my concerns about the administration preemptively ending Title 42. Border agents were very clear with me that the end of Title 42 will lead to a steep increase of attempted crossings that they will not be able to effectively handle because they don't have enough resources," Hassan told CNN in a statement. "In particular, border agents told me that they need additional personnel, physical barriers, and technology at the border to stop unlawful crossings, which is especially important because they expect that smugglers will try to take advantage of the increase in attempted crossings." Read more: https://edition.cnn.com/2022/04/12/politics/title-42-democratic-strategy/index.html
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