McCarthy to head delegation of Republican lawmakers to southern border

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is leading a delegation of Republican lawmakers to the southern border in Texas on Monday, his office announced on Saturday.

McCarthy and nine other Republicans will be traveling to the southern border at Eagle Pass, Texas, in the minority leader’s second congressional delegation to the southern border this Congress, his office noted.

The other GOP lawmakers joining McCarthy include House Republican Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (N.Y.) and Reps. Gary Palmer (Ala.), Tony Gonzales (Texas), Randy Weber (Texas), Michael Guest (Miss.), Chip Roy (Texas), Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.), Diana Harshbarger (Tenn.) and Blake Moore (Utah). 

“Today the border crisis is exploding – but the Biden administration is about to make this unprecedented catastrophe even worse by rescinding Title 42,” McCarthy’s office said in a release.

“House Republicans stand with our brave Border Patrol agents on the front lines of this crisis, and we demand that the Biden administration reverse their decision to end Title 42 and fully enforce the immigration and border security laws of our nation.”

The development comes as the Biden administration recorded roughly 221,000 migrant arrests at the southern border for the month of March — the highest monthly number of border encounters in two decades. 

Earlier this month, the Biden administration announced it would be rescinding Title 42, a Trump-era policy that allows migrants to rapidly be turned away from the border and barred from seeking asylum. The policy is set to end on May 23.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki confirmed earlier this week that “we are planning and preparing for the end of Title 42 enforcement on May 23.”

“There are a range of ideas out there in Congress: Democrats, Republicans, others, some who support a delay of Title 42 implementation, some who strongly oppose it,” she added. “And there are a range of other ideas of reforming our immigration system. This would all require congressional action. We’re happy to have that conversation with them.”