Former CIA operative Matt Castelli announced he is running for the Democratic nomination for the House seat in NY-21 in a video Wednesday. (Photo provided)

Democratic congressional candidate Matt Castelli opposes the Biden administration’s plan to lift a COVID-related rule that allows the U.S. government to expel those seeking asylum at the southern border.

“The security of our nation, our communities and our families is paramount,” Castelli, a former CIA counterterrorism official from the town of Saratoga, said in a telephone interview with The Post-Star on Monday.

The Trump administration in 2020 implemented Title 42, a section of public health law that allows turning away people seeking asylum at the border during a public health crisis.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Protection recently announced it would lift Title 42 on May 23 because COVID-19 is no longer as serious of a threat.

Courts are considering lawsuits that Republicans have filed to prevent lifting Title 42.

Castelli, one of two candidates seeking the Democratic nomination to challenge Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Schuylerville, said a comprehensive plan is needed to deal with immigration.

“Leadership of both parties have not solved this,” he said.

Castelli said the first step to developing that plan should be to speak with border crossing agents.

The other Democratic candidate is Matt Putorti, a lawyer from Whitehall.

The Putorti campaign did not respond to messages The Post-Star left on Monday and again on Tuesday asking Putorti to comment for this report.

Castelli, in the telephone interview, elaborated about his previous remarks about Title 42 in a radio interview May 9 on WVMT radio.

“I do not believe the administration has shown that they have a comprehensive plan for doing this without risking significant concerns for our security and potentially creating an even worse humanitarian crisis at the border,” he said in the radio interview.

Stefanik was not available to comment for this report directly.

Alex DeGrasse, a senior adviser to the congresswoman, questioned Castelli’s sincerity.

“After Congresswoman Stefanik spent months advocating against Joe Biden’s effort to lift Title 42, now we hear Downstate Democrat Matt Castelli is trying to follow suit,” he said in a written statement.

DeGrasse reiterated his criticism that Castelli moved to Saratoga County in summer 2021 to accept employment, just a few months before Castelli announced his candidacy.

Castelli said his opposition to lifting Title 42 is an example of how he is “a different kind of Democrat.”

Another example, he said, is his pledge, if elected, to join the Problem Solvers Caucus, a bipartisan group of House members, with an equal number of Democrats and Republicans, established in 2017 to propose consensus legislation.