Vox Sentences - The border rule dividing Democrats

Democrats push Biden on a Trump-era immigration rule; Shanghai eases Covid-19 lockdowns for millions.

Tonight's Sentences was written by Jariel Arvin.

Democrats pressure the Biden Administration on Title 42

Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

• A growing number of Democrats is pushing the Biden administration to reconsider or delay ending a Trump-era immigration rule granting border officials broad authority to quickly expel asylum seekers. [Politico / Burgess Everett and Holly Otterbein]
• The policy, known as Title 42, allows noncitizens to be denied entry to the US for health reasons; Trump instituted it at the beginning of the pandemic. [The Hill / Alexander Bolton]
• Public health officials have long said Title 42, which has resulted in more than 1.7 million expulsions, is ineffective at stopping the spread of Covid-19. It has, however, been an effective tool for reducing the number of migrants at the border. [CNN / MJ Lee and Kate Sullivan]
• Citing the current state of the pandemic, the CDC announced the policy will expire on May 23. [Newsweek / Khaleda Rahman]
• An April Morning Consult poll showed most Americans disapprove of scrapping Title 42, prompting fear among some Democrats of the political fallout in November’s midterm elections. [National Public Radio / Deepa Shivaram]
• Now, moderate and progressive Democratic lawmakers and candidates are asking for a detailed plan for handling the expected influx of migrants at the US-Mexico border. However, Biden also faces pressure from progressives who say the policy unfairly keeps out asylum seekers. [Axios / Hans Nichols and Jonathan Swan]

Shanghai eases Covid-19 lockdowns for millions

• On Wednesday, Shanghai allowed millions of residents to leave their homes for the first time in weeks as health officials say the coronavirus is now partially under control. [Associated Press / Joe McDonald]
• More than 16 million of the city’s 25 million people are still confined to their homes, but a top health official said a downward trend in the cases means close to 8 million people can return to work. [Reuters / Brenda Goh and Ella Cao]
• To comply with China’s “zero-Covid” policy, Shanghai in late March ordered strict lockdowns and quarantined those who tested positive in separate facilities. The sudden lockdown led to complaints about lack of food and poor conditions. [CNN / Steven Jiang]
• Shanghai reported 17 deaths amid 400,000 cases during its three-week surge. Officials say the low death numbers prove China’s zero-Covid strategy works, but public health officials outside the country say the actual death toll could be higher. [New York Times / Vivian Wang, Joy Dong, and Amy Chang Chien]
• The policy change also followed economic warnings that pandemic restrictions could severely hurt China’s economy. Industrial work restarted in Shanghai Tuesday; for instance, Tesla employees returned after nearly three weeks away. [Gizmodo / Passant Rabie]

The Biden administration has provided at least 40,000 student loan borrowers with immediate forgiveness. [Forbes / Adam S. Minsky]

• Wednesday, the Florida Senate approved a measure that would take special land privileges away from Disney World in a move seen as retaliation over its opposition to the "Don’t Say Gay" Bill. [NYT / Brooks Barnes]
• French President Emmanuel Macron faced challenger Marine Le Pen on Wednesday in their only debate ahead of Sunday’s runoff election. [Reuters / Ingrid Melander, Elizabeth Pineau, and Tassilo Hummel]
• Wimbledon banned Russian and Belarusian players from this year’s tournament over the war in Ukraine. [ESPN / Tom Hamilton]

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“The politics are pretty simple. The Republicans are going to hit Democrats with those videos of people streaming into the United States.”

[Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) talks Title 42 / Axios]

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