Cortez Sends Second Letter To Biden Expressing Concerns About End Of Title 42

EDINBURG – As a court-mandated end to a health-related immigration policy looms this month, Hidalgo County Judge Richard F. Cortez sent a second letter to President Biden this week expressing concern over the apparent lack of a strategy to deal with an expected increase in migrants seeking asylum.

The one-page letter, sent late Monday, asks the President for three things:

1.    To provide leadership to delay suspension of the Title 42 provision that allowed U.S. immigration officials to deport migrants quickly as the COVID-19 virus persists.

2.    To visit Hidalgo County and learn first-hand how the issue of immigration is affecting our community.

3.    Prioritize getting comprehensive immigration reform passed in the next Congress.

“I am sympathetic to those seeking asylum,” Judge Cortez wrote to the President. “I must also communicate to you that current policies are placing an undue burden on those who have committed to protecting our country.” This includes local, state and federal law enforcement, as well as the U.S. Armed Forces, the letter said.

Cortez said that since he first wrote to the President on May 2, 2022, local law enforcement and migrant advocates have been able to manage the heavy volume of immigrants entering Hidalgo County. But without a clear and comprehensive strategy for dealing with the post Title 42 era, “the influx of asylum seekers may prove disastrous to Hidalgo County,” Cortez wrote.