House appropriators move to extend Title 42 through DHS budget

House appropriators voted Friday to extend a Trump-era border policy, adding a six-month extension of Title 42 to the Department of Homeland Security Budget.

The amendment, sponsored by Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.), was passed by voice vote, leaving unclear which Democrats voted in support of the effort.

Title 42 contravenes asylum law, allowing border officials to rapidly expel migrants without allowing them to seek protection in the U.S.

The Biden administration continued the policy during the first year of its administration but moved in April to rescind the policy. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) determined the pandemic conditions that Trump used to justify his emergency order were no longer necessary as the U.S. learns to live with COVID-19.

A federal judge blocked the Biden administration from lifting Title 42, which the administration has appealed.

But the Newhouse amendment would require the Biden administration to keep the policy in place for another 180 days beyond the date that Title 42 is eventually terminated.   

The House Appropriations Committee contains a number of Democrats in vulnerable districts, and a source told The Hill a whip count found more than half a dozen Democrats serving on the committee were willing to support Newhouse’s amendment.

While the majority of Democrats had long called for Biden to abandon Title 42, the CDC’s rescission of the order has put some Democrats in a difficult spot.

After the April 1 recession announcement, some in the Senate became particularly vocal.

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) called it a “frightening decision.” Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), one of the more vulnerable senators up for reelection, called it “wrong.” And Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), who is also in a close race, said the Biden administration “does not appear to be ready” for the surge in migration that could result.

Updated at 12:39 p.m.