A total of 10 Republican senators have introduced a bill to extend Title 42 authority until February 2025.
Title 42 was put in place by former President Donald Trump to turn away migrants at the southern border due to the health concerns of the global coronavirus pandemic.
President Joe Biden plans to do away with Title 42 COVID-19 expulsions on May 23. Congressional Republicans have been predicting an impending rush to the border as a result.
Now, the new bill would extend Title 42. The bill was introduced by GOP Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Jim Risch of Idaho, Roger Wicker of Mississippi, Steve Daines of Montana, Kevin Cramer of North Dakota, Mike Braun of Indiana, Mike Crapo of Idaho, John Hoeven of North Dakota, and Tim Scott of South Carolina.
"Rescinding Title 42 may be Biden's biggest mistake thus far, and that is a really long list," Rubio said in a statement. "With this action, he is opening our borders and inviting a massive surge of illegal immigration — likely the biggest in U.S. history — that will inflict a lasting and avoidable crisis onto our nation. Ending Title 42 enforcement is reckless, dangerous, and puts our communities in harm's way."
Tillis added: "The Biden administration's failed immigration policies have caused illegal immigration to reach historic and unsustainable levels that have completely overwhelmed the brave men and women tasked with protecting our southern border.
"Title 42 authority has been crucial for Homeland Security as the work to maintain the flow of illegal immigrants, and the decision by President Biden to rescind it will lead to a massive surge of illegal immigrants coming across our southern border.
"This dire humanitarian crisis cannot be allowed, and I am proud to co-introduce this bill that would extend this authority until 2025. Most Americans favor keeping Title 42 in place, so I hope we can agree that we should maintain this policy and protect our country from a surge of illegal immigration over the next few months."
Rubio plans on using Senate rules to bypass committee hearings on the bill and instead place it directly on the Senate calendar.
House Republicans are warning 18,000 migrants a day could rush to the border if Title 42 is allowed to end.