Governor Newsom's Support for Migrants Entering California Divides Lawmakers

Governor Gavin Newsom and migrants in CaliforniaPhoto byTwitter

The southern border between California and Mexico doesn’t make the news as much as the border states of Texas or Arizona or even the coastal state of Florida. But California is expected to see an increase in migrants crossing the border as Title 42 ends next week.

Title 42 ends on May 11 as the Biden administration expects to see up to 6 million migrants cross the border which is higher than the record setting mark set last year of over 251,000 migrants.

Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom has been supportive of migrants but other political leaders in his state don’t agree.

Republican Representative Tom McClintock of California and Andy Biggs of Arizona are trying to revive a Trump-era policy. They introduced a bill that would make it harder for migrants to request asylum.

The bill will also require migrants to seek asylum through a port of entry rather than any crossing point to California or other states.

In addition, this bill requires migrants to request asylum in another country before they arrive in the United States. This requirement is another hindrance to migrants as they must also request asylum using the CBP One app that President Joe Biden instituted in January as a requirement.

But Governor Newsom has some support in Congress.

The ranking member of the Border Security and Enforcement Subcommittee, Representative Lou Correa, D-California has made multiple visits to California, Arizona, and Texas to check on the border situation.

After one of his visits, Correa said:

“I think that's hypocritical for us to be talking about a health issue as a rationale for a refugee challenge. One of the big issues I addressed while I was at the border was Title 42."

"I asked the officers, are we ready to essentially assume the normal refugee process, apply normal refugee laws — which means Title 42 out of the way. And they told me they're ready to make that transition."

Here is some recent news on migrants waiting along the California border.

Do you think California will see a large number of migrants cross its border when Title 42 ends?