WATCH: Immigration and Customs Enforcement head testifies on budget amid debate over Title 42

Immigration and Customs Enforcement director Tae Johnson testified before House Appropriations committee on Tuesday on the organization’s planned budget.

Watch the hearing in the player above.

“There are significant disagreements about immigration policy in this country and among members of this Subcommittee,” Chairwoman Roybal-Allard said in her opening remarks.

On May 23, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention plans to end restrictions that have prevented migrants from seeking asylum under U.S. law and international treaty on grounds of preventing the spread of COVID-19. Migrants have been expelled more than 1.9 million times since March 2020 under Title 42 authority, named for a 1944 public health law.

A federal judge in Louisiana is expected to rule in favor of 24 states seeking to keep Title 42 in effect while litigation proceeds. U.S. District Judge Robert Summerhays, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, has said he will rule before May 23.

Even if the judge allows Title 42 to end, Congress may try to keep it alive in an alliance between Republicans and some Democrats who worry that a widely anticipated increase in illegal crossings will put them on the defensive in an already difficult midterm election year.