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You know about theoldBig Liethatthe 2020 election was stolen.

Heresthe new Big Lie Republicans in Congresscareabout illegal immigrationat theU.S.-Mexicoborder.

If they really cared, theydfixthe problem. Instead, they are happy to use it to falsely accusePresident Biden andDemocrats of wanting open borders.

Another round ofalarmistRepublicanshoutingabout the border willbeginnext week when the Biden administration plans to end the use of Title 42. Thispublic health law has been used to stop migrants from legally seeking asylum in the U.S.

Title 42became lawin 1944, aimed atpreventing the spread of diseases liketuberculosisand malaria. In 2020, as the pandemic hit,theTrump administration usedTitle 42as a flimsypatchtoslowthe flow of migrants crossing the border.

Now, with the danger fromCOVID-19 past its peak and most mandates lifted,there is little justification for the use of Title 42 at the border.

But more than 80 percent of Trump-led Republicans say it should be kept, at least for now.

On the other hand,64 percent of Democrats want to stopthe inappropriate use of Title 42 at the border,according to a recent CNN/SSRS poll.

SenateRepublicans are currently threatening to withhold votesfor funds that would aid COVID-19 prevention and treatment.They are demanding a vote on anamendment to continue using Title 42 at the border.

Republicans are gambling with the health security of the nation, Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) said last week.I dont think Title 42 has anything to do with COVID.

Senate Majority Whip DickDurbin (D-Ill.) has said Democrats may haveno choice butto give the Republicans a vote on the amendment to getcritically needed moneyformorevaccines.

Durbin knowsRepublicans in the Senate are avoiding work on real immigration reform.

For two years, Title 42 has been used to expel immigrants who cross our border, Durbin,who is also chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, wrote on Twitter earlier this year.

Manyhave been unjustly returned to the danger they fled. It is not a humane or effective solution to securing our border,hewrote.

Durbin istalkingwithSens. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) andJohn Cornyn (R-Texas) to see if anyparts ofimmigrationreform cancurrentlyget bipartisan support.

But beginning next week,TV cameraswill berushing to the border asthe far-right inflamesanti-immigrant fear to stir up votes for the upcomingmidterm elections.

In Ohio, J.D. Vance, who won the Republican nomination for Senate, has falsely charged Biden with calling for an open border.Adam Laxalt, running for the GOP Senate nomination in Nevada, has a radio ad that promises he will stop attempts to grant amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants.

Thatbrand ofpolarized politics is a sink hole forhonestattemptstofix the problem at the border. It does nothing todeal withthe 11 million already in the countryillegally andtheyoung people, Dreamers, who were brought across the border as children and grew up here without citizenship.

Durbinhas seenpreviouspolitical storms derail substantive immigration reform.

Heonce workedwiththe recently deceased Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), a strong conservative, on a bill to help Dreamers. It did not pass.

There was a dealwith Senate Republicansin 2013. Butthe GOP majority in theHouse would not vote on it. And in 2018 there was another deal, including $25 billion for Trumps wall, but Republican hardliners got the president to back away.

It is easy todismiss any new effortonimmigration as a lost cause.

But thereis reason to hope that Durbin can succeed this time.

Fifty-sixpercent of Americans favor allowing migrants from Central American countries to seek asylum in the United States, a modest downtick from 63 percent in April 2021, according toa CNN report on its recentpoll.

Also,most of theillegal immigrantsin the U.S. no longerget here by traveling across the Mexican border. They come herefrom all over the world,carryinglegalvisas, land at airports and then overstay the time allotted by the visa.

Whatisclear as the years go by is that the GOP hardliners on immigrationdont have betterideasfor immigration reform. They have noinspired thoughts aboutborder securitybeyond the wall that Trump promised and never fully built.

They have no plan to deal with young people who grew up here, went to school here, after being brought here by their parents.Most Americans want those Dreamers, to have legal status.

Democrats are paralyzed with fear thatin midterm campaigns,Republicans willonce againblame them for the latestimmigrationcrisis.

With Republicanspotentially takingcontrol of the House and Senate after the midterms,the onlyforeseeableopening for reformis now.

Good luckfacing downthe new Big Lie,Sen. Durbin.

Juan Williams is anauthor,and a political analyst for Fox News Channel.

Originally posted here:
Juan Williams: The GOPs fake concern on immigration - The Hill