In less than two weeks, Title 42 or the “remain in Mexico” policy is set to expire. The policy was implemented during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic by the previous administration to slow the influx of illegal border crossings, which has risen to all-time high under President Biden. Since he took office, more than four million illegal immigrants have been apprehended crossing the southern border.

While Title 42 will be lifted due to court order, the Biden administration has been working to reverse the policy, claiming it was no longer necessary for pandemic reasons. Never mind the fact that President Biden, who has stated that the pandemic is over, continues to abuse COVID-19 pandemic emergency powers.

When asked if he was planning to go to the border, this week, President Biden quipped that “there are more important things going on.” Parents who lost a child to fentanyl poisoning as well as our border patrol agents—who have been attacked by this administration while trying to do an impossible job—likely disagree.

The United States is facing a poisoning epidemic caused by fentanyl and its related substances that are pouring over our southern border. Last year, more than 100,000 Americans died of a drug overdose or poisoning, with 70,000 dying from fentanyl or its analogs. President Biden’s own officials confirmed these substances are coming across the Southern Border. President Biden’s assertion that there are “more important things going on” than the border crisis is misguided and offensive.

Because of President Biden’s open-border policies—and disregard for the crisis at our southern border—every state is now a border state. Energy and Commerce Republicans are committed to securing the border and stopping the scourge of fentanyl in communities across America. That’s why we’re leading on the HALT Fentanyl Act to permanently give law enforcement the tools they need to keep fentanyl off our streets.

In the new Congress, Energy and Commerce Republicans will work to hold President Biden and his administration accountable for their failures to address the ongoing crisis at the border. We cannot allow the lawlessness and tragedy to continue to tear apart our communities.

Read what Energy and Commerce have to say: