President Joe Biden hailed the decline in border crossings since the end of Title 42 with a dig at the media – as new strains on the government’s ability to handle the influx of migrants are just beginning to appear.
When asked how things were going after the expiration of Title 42 powers, which ended at midnight, Biden told a group of reporters, “Much better than you all expected,” and chuckled.
He also spoke about the reduced number of crossings, which has fallen by about 50 percent as migrants – and smugglers who abuse their status – assess the new regulatory regime.
“They’ve gone down, I hope they continue to go down, and we still have a lot of work to do,” Biden said while riding a bike near his beach house in Rehoboth, Delaware.
His comment comes after Vice President Kamala Harris said at a fundraiser that things were going “pretty smoothly” despite processing problems and border state governors busing migrants to northern cities, shifting the administrative burden to those jurisdictions .
President Biden, in his first comments since Title 42 ended Sunday, said things are going “much better than you all expected” at the border.
“And we also need a little more help from Congress in terms of funding and legislative changes,” Biden said.
Biden was referring to the all-new data.
According to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, border security officials have recorded a 50 percent drop in the number of migrants crossing into the United States from Mexico since Title 42 expired at midnight Thursday.
Numbers had surged ahead of the end of pandemic restrictions, surpassing the 10,000-a-day mark.
But as they make their way through the system, some new migrants are assigned court dates far in the future.
A Venezuelan told the Washington Examiner he faces a court date in Oregon in a year — and his mother “was told to wait 10 years before she could see a judge.”
A 39-year-old Venezuelan was ordered to appear in court on March 11, 2027.
Migrants reach through a border wall for clothing distributed by volunteers while waiting between two border walls to receive an asylum application in San Diego on Friday, May 12, 2023. The number of migrants crossing the border has fallen by about 50 percent since the end of Title 42 authority. Biden said things were going ‘better than you all expected’
Venezuelans are among migrants from a handful of countries who may qualify for special probationary status, which allows people to apply in advance and be granted a two-year work permit while remaining in the country.
This is all happening amid a court case backlog of an impressive 2 million.
After 10,000 encounters at the border were counted every day for several days in a row last week, the number dropped to 6,300 on Friday and around 4,200 on Saturday, according to Mayorkas.
“Over the past two days, U.S. Border Patrol has seen a 50 percent decrease in the number of encounters compared to what we saw earlier in the week before Title 42 ended at midnight on Thursday,” he told State of the Union” from CNN’ program.
‘It’s still early. We are on the third day. But we have been planning this transition for months.”
According to Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, border patrol agents saw a 50 percent drop in the number of migrants crossing into the United States from Mexico
This was the scene Friday morning near the border wall outside of Yuma, Arizona. It was deserted. About 24 hours earlier, 300 migrants were in line awaiting trial
He also appeared on ABC’s This Week to spread the message that the Biden administration had managed to advertise that the country’s borders were not open.
was at the border in Yuma, Ariz. on Thursday night as hundreds of people raced to the United States before the end of Title 42.
But the next morning the place was as good as deserted. Experts said they believed migrants and people-smuggling gangs were trying to get a grip on new immigration policies.
Mayorkas admitted it was too early to say the numbers had peaked, but he said Washington’s message had gotten through.
“We have clearly conveyed a vital message to those considering entering our southern border: There is a legal, safe and orderly way to enter the United States,” he said.
“This is happening through the pathways that President Biden has expanded in unprecedented ways.”
“And then there is a consequence of not using those lawful avenues, and that consequence is deportation from the United States, deportation and a five-year re-entry ban and possible criminal prosecution.”
Title 42 was activated by the Trump administration to curb the spread of COVID-19. This is a public health measure that allows border authorities to immediately deport arrivals before they can even apply for asylum.
Immigrants seeking asylum in the U.S., stuck at a makeshift camp between U.S.-Mexico border walls, sit while a Customs and Border Protection officer stands guard as other migrants queue for transportation May 13, 2023
But after the pandemic was over, it finally ended Thursday at midnight Eastern time.
The Biden administration rushed in new restrictions, effectively restoring Trump’s “transit ban,” which allows for the deportation of arrivals who have not sought asylum in the countries through which they have traveled.
Migrants can legally report at the border if they have pre-registered via the CBP One mobile app.
But there were catches. A last-minute court challenge blocked plans to speed up the release of migrants from border guard detention.
The rapid decline in numbers will help ease pressure on prisons that have been stretched well beyond capacity.
Nearly 300 newly arrived migrants were released by officials in Yuma, Ariz., on Friday, showing how border towns are struggling to cope with the huge spike in arrivals over the past week.
Nearly 300 newly arrived migrants were released by officials in Yuma, Ariz., on Friday, showing how difficult border towns are struggling to cope with a huge surge
Migrants were spotted boarding buses in Yuma, Ariz., coinciding with the end of Title 42 and the lifting of a Trump-era restriction meant to prevent the spread of COVID-19
Three white buses with blacked-out windows pulled into the Yuma Public Safety Training Facility near the city’s airport on Friday afternoon
On Thursday, Yuma’s mayor announced that the CBP plans to release migrants in the city who had not yet been fully processed, though he insisted they had been “screened.”
And on Friday afternoon, three white buses with blacked-out windows pulled into the Yuma Public Safety Training Facility near the city’s airport.
The location was a closely guarded secret, but was on hand to witness the release. According to an information document, 141 people were released.
Streams of people could be seen getting off the buses and being directed to a shaded waiting area where there was at least some protection from temperatures of 30C.
From there, it is understood they will be loaded onto buses that will take them to Phoenix.
A similar release of about 140 people followed in the morning at another location in Yuma and nearby San Luis.
Yuma County Supervisor Jonathan Lines said the trial was an admission that federal authorities just couldn’t handle.
“This is depressing and the federal government relies on local and state government to do their job,” he said.
“It is another failure by the Biden administration to address a problem it created with its open borders policy.”