California Gov. Gavin Newsom warned this week a long-expected flood of illegal immigrants crossing the southern border into the United States could “break” the state.
He visited the U.S.-Mexico border on Dec. 12, nine days before the anticipated end of Title 42, which is set to expire on Dec. 21. The policy, created as part of the Public Health Service Act in 1944, was triggered by former President Donald Trump to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Newsom, a Democrat, blamed Republicans for the border crisis and defended President Joe Biden and his administration’s plans to lift the Title 42 policy, which allowed border patrol to quickly deport illegal immigrants.
However, he said both parties need to take action to address the border crisis, because the system is already overwhelmed.
“Newsom is part of the problem,” Homan told The Epoch Times in a text message. “The policies he created in California such as being a sanctuary state, a state that issues state ID, a new policy that provides free medical care to illegal aliens, in-state tuition, and many more, act as an enticement to illegal immigration.”
In 2019, during the Trump administration, Newsom traveled to El Salvador in Central America to “examine the root causes of migration and discuss California’s efforts to provide relief and humanitarian aid to asylum seekers fleeing poverty and violence in their home countries,” according to Newsom’s office.
Homan claimed Newsom’s trip encouraged migrants to come to the United States.
“When you offer what he has offered, such as a protection from ICE, even if you commit a serious crime, the most vulnerable people in the world will risk the journey, with the help of vicious cartels that sexually assault many of the females,” he said.
“Folks, if we are to advance liberty and justice, we need to secure our border and fix the immigration system,” Biden said.
The union responded that Biden’s actions since he was sworn into office have directly led to the record-high number of apprehensions at the southern border.
“It has been clear to Border Patrol agents that this Administration is not interested in securing the border,“ the union said. ”One can only assume the President’s plan was to completely overwhelm the system and break it, but one must wonder if he actually intends to fix it.”
On Dec. 12, Newsom joined Baja California Gov. Marina del Pilar Avila-Olmeda in the border town of Mexicali, Mexico, to visit the Peregrino Migrant Shelter with members of the United Nations’ International Organization for Migration. The shelter provides aid and shelter to migrants and asylum seekers who seek to enter the United States.
“California has invested roughly $1 billion over the past three years to support the health and safety of migrants as well as the surrounding border communities, but we cannot continue to do this work alone,” Newsom said. “It is long past time for Republicans in Congress to engage on real solutions to meet the public safety, public health and humanitarian issues at our border and in our immigration system.”
Newsom also visited a resource center run by the State of California which provides arriving migrants with screening, testing, and vaccination services to minimize the spread of COVID-19.
In addition, these centers offer short-term shelter, medical screenings, and onward travel coordination so migrants may safely pursue their immigration proceedings, according to Newsom’s press release.
Newsom also met with migrants from Haiti, Guatemala, and Mexico but snubbed the border patrol.
Newsom signed legislation in September allowing illegal immigrants to obtain a state ID. In his 2022–23 California budget plan released in January, Newsom announced universal health care benefits for all low-income residents, including illegal immigrants.
