The Biden administration’s decision to end the public health emergency power that permitted the deportation of roughly 1.7 million migrants because of the pandemic is being questioned by Democrats before the 2022 midterm elections.

The decision to end Title 42 in May, which the White House has repeatedly attributed to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, coincides with an anticipated worst-case-scenario surge of up to 18,000 border crossings a day as migrants take advantage of warmer weather before the fall elections.