White House officials are increasingly anxious about an expected migrant surge at the end of May coinciding with the repeal of a restrictive Trump-era border policy that has let them turn people away.
The political fallout over the Biden administration’s decision to terminate a Trump-era pandemic restriction, known as Title 42, on the US-Mexico border has put into sharp focus the precarious position for the White House — between its goals to welcome immigrants and weighing using drastic Trump-era policies to try to stem the flow of migrants arriving at the border. “People are worried about where this is going and weathering the storm,” a source familiar with discussions told CNN.
One source who is in regular contact with senior-most administration officials about immigration policy said concern at the White House about the situation at the border has only grown as the midterm elections approach — and all the more so in recent days after the announcement that Title 42 will officially end in May.
White House chief of staff Ron Klain and President Joe Biden’s domestic policy adviser Susan Rice — two powerful political voices in the administration — are among the top administration officials who have been intimately involved in discussing the situation.
