The Biden administration, through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is set to terminate the highly-effective Title 42 protocol on May 23. Many predict that canceling the policy will usher in an unprecedented and dangerous new wave of illegal immigrants.

According to Fox News, the situation is so dire that a growing list of Democrats — especially those in border states — are now demanding that the Biden administration reconsider, or at the very least, have a backup plan. One of those Democrats is Rep. Henry Cuellar (TX), who made clear this week that he’s unhappy with the decision to end Title 42. 

Cuellar has now gone as far as joining a bipartisan effort that aims to block the Biden administration from ending the policy.

Democratic Reps. Jared Golden of Maine, Stephanie Murphy of Florida, Greg Stanton of Arizona, Chris Pappas of New Hampshire, and Tom O’Halleran of Arizona have also signed on to the effort.

Dems speak out

Cuellar, who represents a border district in Texas, made clear that he is definitely not in favor of the Biden admin ending Title 42.

“Title 42 should not be lifted,” he said, adding that if Dems “don’t stand up and do the right thing, they’re going to be hit hard by the Republicans.”

Cuellar was referencing the timing of the ending of the policy, which is just six months before the 2022 midterms, which Dems were already expected to take a beating in, but with another record-setting rise in illegal immigration, it will likely turn into a political bloodbath for the Democratic Party.

“But some of us are standing up and saying this is the right thing to do for the border,” Cuellar said. “We all believe in immigration reform, but we don’t want chaos at the border. We want law and order at the border.”

So far, Biden’s White House hasn’t budged on the issue, although with growing bipartisan support in Congress, the pressure could soon boil over.

Senate effort, too?

Even worse for the Biden administration is the fact that there is also a growing bipartisan movement in the U.S. Senate to block the cancelation of Title 42.

No less than five Democratic senators have already joined forces with Republicans on the issue.

In the Senate version of the legislation, Title 42 would automatically be extended for another 60 days, and it would require the Department of Homeland Security to come up with a viable backup plan within 30 days.