A Texas Democratic county judge has invited President Biden to tour the southern border before following through with the scheduled lifting of Title 42 at the end of the month

In a 2-page open letter sent Monday, Hidalgo County Judge Richard F. Cortez said his region “is situated at a unique crossroads of national security and economic considerations.”

Hidalgo County was particularly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent economic disruptions, he said.

“It is with this in mind that I write to invite you to visit our border community before your administration makes any substantial changes to current border policy,” he said.

itle 42 is a health policy implemented by the Trump administration in March 2020 as the nation was reeling from the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The policy allowed federal authorities to quickly deport migrants at the border to prevent cross-border spread of the virus.

The Biden administration said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) would be lifting Title 42 in late May. But a federal judge in Louisiana ruled last week that the government could not unwind the rule before the end date.