Photo: Science Photo Library RF
1 OFFICIALS SAY 60,000 MIGRANTS WERE WAITING AT THE BORDER LAST NIGHT
With over 60,000 migrants reportedly waiting at the border, Title 42 ended last night, setting the stage for a large influx of immigrants that some officials worry the U.S. might not have the capacity to handle. As of yesterday, almost 25,000 migrants were already in Border Patrol holding facilities and tents according to Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz. On paper, the agency has the capacity to hold just a few thousand. The Department of Homeland Security was blocked by a federal judge in Florida yesterday from putting into place a new Biden administration policy that would release some migrants into the U.S. without court dates or the ability to track them. The emergency order blocking the policy will expire in 14 days. Texas law enforcement spent the day yesterday continuing to put up razor wire near the border as part of Governor Greg Abbott’s “Operation Lone Star.” The border patrol said it stopped around 10,000 migrants from entering the country on Tuesday, nearly twice the level from March. Appearing on NBC’s “Meet the Press NOW” yesterday, Texas Democratic Rep. Vicente Gonzalez said he had supported waiting until more infrastructure was in place to handle immigrants before letting Title 42 expire and said that the Brownsville area was already close to capacity for migrants as of yesterday.
2 DEBT CEILING MEETING SET FOR TODAY HAS BEEN POSTPONED UNTIL NEXT WEEK
With the clock continuing to tick down to a possible default in early June, President Joe Biden’s planned meeting today with four Congressional leaders to continue discussions on raising the debt ceiling has been postponed until next week. No specific reason was given, but a White House spokesperson said yesterday that “Staff will continue working, and all the principals agreed to meet early next week.” House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said it shouldn’t be taken as a bad sign and said that everyone involved agreed that staff should meet again today to continue working on a deal. A source told NBC News that “This is a positive development. Meetings are progressing,” before adding that “it wasn’t the right moment to bring it back to principals.” No date for the rescheduled meeting has been announced.
3 FEDERAL JUDGE RULES THAT 18 TO 20-YEAR-OLDS CAN'T BE BANNED FROM BUYING GUNS
U.S. Senior District Judge Robert Payne ruled this week in favor of four men over the age of 18 but not yet 21 who were denied the ability to purchase handguns by federal laws and regulations from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. In his opinion, the judge referred to the Supreme Court opinion last June that laid out a framework for determining if firearms rules pass constitutional muster. The opinion said that the government must demonstrate that gun restrictions are consistent with the nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation. Judge Payne said the government “simply has not met its burden to support the finding that restrictions on the purchasing of firearms by 18-to-20-year-olds is part of our nation’s history and tradition.” The Justice Department can appeal Payne’s decision.