President Biden confused his administration’s effort to restore a mass transit mask mandate with an expiring pandemic policy used to turn away most illegal immigrants at the US-Mexico border, when asked by a reporter about the Title 42 immigration measure.
Biden’s press team once again had to issue a written statement afterwards that claimed the president misspoke and meant to comment only about masks.
“I want to clarify that, in comments at the conclusion of my remarks this morning, I was referring to the CDC’s mask mandate and there is no Department of Justice action on Title 42,” read the statement, attributed to Biden.
Moments earlier, Biden was asked by a reporter at the White House if he was “considering delaying” the end of Title 42, which allows authorities to rapidly deport people suspected of illegally entering the country, but he responded as if he had been asked about masking on planes, trains and buses.
“No … First of all, there’s gonna be an appeal by the Justice Department,” Biden said.
“Because as a matter of principle, we want to be able to be in a position where if, in fact, it is strongly concluded by the scientists that we need Title 42, that we’d be able to do that. But there has been no decision on extending Title 42.”
Both issues are premised on the CDC finding that a public health emergency grants the government extraordinary temporary powers, but Biden critics accuse him of using the emergency status only to mandate masking and not to deter illegal immigration.
People wait to be transported to a processing center after crossing into the United States from Mexico through a gap in the border wall on April 17, 2022.James Keivom
The White House is scheduled to lift Title 42 on May 23 after the CDC announced earlier this month that the public health emergency no longer justified rapid deportations — while the Justice Department is appealing a Florida federal judge’s Monday ruling that the CDC exceeded its power in imposing the mass transit mask rule.
Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott tweeted this month: “The Biden administration says that COVID remains serious enough to require passengers on airplanes to wear face masks. At the same time Biden says that COVID it is not serious enough to maintain the title 42 expulsions of illegal immigrants crossing the border. Pure hypocrisy.”
More than 20 states with Republican attorneys general are suing to require the Biden administration to keep Title 42 in effect and say the authority is needed to prevent a massive migrant surge after the number of arrests at the US-Mexico border hit a four-decade high last year.
Several Republican governors have accused Biden of putting America last as they accuse him of caring more about mask mandates than the border crisis. AP Photo/LM Otero
“Biden thinks there’s a COVID emergency on airplanes so toddlers must wear masks,” Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) tweeted earlier this month. “But he thinks there’s no emergency at the southern border, so he’s ready to lift the few remaining restrictions. This is putting Americans last.”
The DOJ said Wednesday that it would appeal the ruling by US District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle after the CDC said in a statement that “an order requiring masking in the indoor transportation corridor remains necessary for the public health.”
Last week, prior to Mizelle’s ruling, the CDC announced the transportation mask mandate would be extended until May 3 in order to assess the effect of the BA.2 Omicron subvariant of COVID-19.