Sinema slams Biden team, warns of ‘humanitarian crisis’ when Title 42 lifts

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) is warning of a “humanitarian crisis” when Title 42 expires later this week. 

“Everyone here in Arizona knows we are not prepared. The Biden administration had two years to prepare for this and did not do so. And our state is going to bear the brunt and migrants will be in crisis as soon as next week. It will be a humanitarian crisis because we are not prepared,” Sinema told CBS’ Margaret Brennan in an interview for “Face the Nation.”

The pandemic-era policy that allowed the U.S. to more easily expel migrants seeking asylum at the border is set to expire on May 11, as the declaration of a public health emergency for COVID-19 ends.

Sinema and fellow Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) last week introduced a bipartisan bill to extend President Biden’s authority to expel migrants without a hearing even after Title 42 lifts. 

The proposal “is about tiding this over, giving us some time and space for the Biden administration to do their job, and for us legislators to actually create a plan that can get through both the House and the Senate,” Sinema told CBS News.  

The senator bashed the federal government for inaction on the immigration situation at the U.S.-Mexico border. “The failure of the United States government to secure our border and manage immigration properly has been a crisis my entire life,” she said.

The Biden administration is temporarily deploying 1,500 active-duty troops to the U.S.-Mexico border ahead of an anticipated migrant surge when the policy expires.

“I’ve asked this Congress for help in terms of what they need at the border,” Biden said of his decision in an interview on Friday. “They need more agents. They need more people to clear people. They need more action.”