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Mayorkas headed for congressional testimony on Title 42 and other policies next week

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is slated to testify to the House Judiciary Committee next week about border and immigration issues. 

In a letter, ranking Republican member Jim Jordan of Ohio says the committee will ask about the administration’s use of policies like the Trump-era Title 42.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention protocol restricts the legal right to asylum at the border because of the pandemic. It’s slated to end May 23, but some lawmakers are pushing for it to remain, including Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly.

"I’ve warned the White House about this, and DHS about this … you do not have a plan if you lift Title 42," he said. "No one’s saying Title 42 should be in place forever, this is for a public health emergency."

But the CDC says with the widespread availability of vaccines and other mitigation tools, the protocol is no longer necessary to stem the spread of COVID-19. Other public health experts have said the protocol was not an effective tool against the virus to begin with. 

The Department of Homeland Security has said it will respond to an expected increase in migration at the border with temporary processing facilities and more personnel. Kelly argues a more detailed plan, such as where extra DHS staff will come from and how migrants will be transported, is still needed.

Kelly and fellow Arizona Sen. Kysten Sinema are two of a handful of bipartisan lawmakers who signed onto a bill that aims to push the May 23 end date back, a move several organizations who work with migrants in Arizona have opposed

Alisa Reznick is a senior field correspondent covering stories across southern Arizona and the borderlands for the Tucson bureau of KJZZ's Fronteras Desk.