A new immigration wave
HThe end of Title 42 and inaction by Congress leave state and local officials bracing for an influx.
ere’s what effective, purposeful governing looks like: Gov. Kathy Hochul declaring an emergency in order to help localities deal with an expected influx of immigrants.
This is what ineffective, performative politics look like: Officials like Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin declaring emergencies to keep immigrants — legal or otherwise — out of their jurisdictions.
That’s the sad contrast New Yorkers are witnessing this week as the state braces for the expiration of Title 42, a federal provision invoked by former President Donald Trump to use the COVID -19 pandemic as an excuse to limit immigration under the guise of protecting public health.
Prior to Title 42’s invocation in March 2020, immigrants seeking asylum could remain here while their cases were reviewed. But under Mr. Trump, who has made anti-immigrant rhetoric a cornerstone of his political identity, more than 2.8 million of them were sent back over the border using Title 42 rules — and they were denied the right even to seek asylum.
President Joe Biden tried to end Title 42 last year but was blocked by courts after Republicans sued. Now, though, with the end of the national COVID -19 emergency, the use of Title 42 expired as of Thursday night.
That means more immigrants entering the country, on top of the millions already here. New York City has already seen a surge of tens of thousands of immigrants thanks in large part to the antics of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who have been sending them north as a political statement.
To deal with the influx, New York City planned to house several hundred asylum seekers in hotels in Orange and Rockland counties and pay for their food, shelter and resources. But Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus and Rockland County Executive Ed Day declared states of emergency forbidding hotels and motels from accepting them. So did Mr. McLaughlin — even though New York City has no stated plans to send migrants there, and even though the people New York City is sending north are here legally.
The political sniping and one-upmanship are, of course, just another symptom of the broader American immigration problem — the lack of a comprehensive, coherent policy. For that, the dubious credit goes to Mr. Trump’s Republican Party, which for years has done all it can to ensure the immigration system stays broken while running perpetually on promises to fix it. The result: scattershot, ultimately ineffective “solutions” like Title 42 and Mr. Trump’s ridiculous, costly idea for a border wall. And theatrics like these county executives’ states of emergency.
The Biden administration is putting new rules in place to make illegal border crossings less appealing. It’s imposing a five-year ban on entering the country again for anyone caught crossing the border illegally, and prosecution if they do try to enter again anyway.
But this won’t take the place of what’s been so clearly needed for so long: Congress developing a comprehensive, longrange immigration system that addresses all the national security, workforce and humanitarian complexities of the issue. Until then, we’re left with Gov. Hochul’s and Mayor Adams’ best attempts to manage the problem, and Mr. McLaughlin’s best efforts to milk it.