Title 42, Border Crisis, and the Fight for Speaker of the House

On January 5, 2023, Kim Monson examines two major stories shaping America: the ongoing border crisis and the historic Speaker of the House battle now in its second day. Immigration expert Art Arthur explains why President Biden has all the tools needed to secure the border but refuses to use them, while Wade Miller defends the 20 Republican holdouts fighting for fundamental change in how the House operates.

Title 42, Title 8, and Presidential Border Powers

Start listening at 31:30 – Hour 1

In this segment, Art Arthur, Resident Fellow in Law and Policy at the Center for Immigration Studies, joins Kim to discuss the legal framework governing border enforcement. Arthur, a former immigration judge who helped write portions of the Immigration and Nationality Act, provides expert analysis on Title 42 orders and the lesser-known Section 212F powers under Title 8.

“The only thing that has prevented the chaos that we see at the southwest border from becoming an outright catastrophe has been those Title 42 orders.”

— Art Arthur, Resident Fellow in Law and Policy, Center for Immigration Studies

Arthur reveals that President Biden was the first president in history to reject deterrence of illegal migrants. He explains that Section 212F of Title 8 gives the president the same expulsion powers as Title 42, meaning Biden could end the border crisis immediately if he chose to use this authority. The Supreme Court has ruled this provision “exudes deference to the president in every clause” and is all but unreviewable by courts.

“If President Biden wanted to stop the border crisis tomorrow, he could use his authority under Section 212, that’s again in Title 8, to order the expulsion of everybody who enters the United States illegally.”

— Art Arthur, Resident Fellow in Law and Policy, Center for Immigration Studies

The statistics are staggering: over 2.2 million people apprehended in FY 2022, 599,000 who evaded apprehension entirely, and 98 terrorists on the watch list caught at the southwest border. Arthur notes that Biden himself warned in 2014 about smugglers engaging in “physical and sexual abuse” of migrants, yet under his presidency over 300,000 unaccompanied children have entered, with tens of thousands now missing.

The Historic Speaker of the House Battle

Start listening at 59:59 – Hour 2

Wade Miller, Executive Director at the Center for Renewing America, returns to explain why the 20 Republican holdouts are right to block Kevin McCarthy and why media pundits fundamentally misunderstand the floor process. Miller, a combat veteran and former Capitol Hill staffer, has been involved in previous Speaker fights and sees this playing out exactly as expected.

“There’s no scenario that’s realistic in which we don’t get an outcome that is better for America and better for the Republican Party, as long as the 20 hold strong.”

— Wade Miller, Executive Director, Center for Renewing America

Miller defends Lauren Boebert after her rude treatment by Sean Hannity, noting that pundits like Hannity and Mark Levin “don’t understand the floor process” and are buying “every single Team McCarthy talking point.” The holdouts want concrete reforms including a standalone Church Committee with unilateral declassification powers to investigate what Miller calls “woke and weaponized government targeting Americans.”

“The only reason you would do this is if you love your state and you love America, and you want paradigm shifts that change the way DC operates.”

— Wade Miller, Executive Director, Center for Renewing America

Miller emphasizes that these holdouts gain nothing personally. They face political backlash, primary challenges, and dried-up campaign donations. “The only benefit is that it will be good for America.”