Border Patrol has set up a massive new campground in Eagle Pass, Texas in preparation for the possible end of Title 42 in a week.
The structure aims to speed up processing and expand housing capacity in the Del Rio sector, a popular area for migrants trying to cross the border illegally.
Attorneys and Justice Department attorneys representing a cadre of GOP-led states argued in court Friday over the Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) pandemic-era health policy, which allows for the immediate deportation of migrants trying to cross the border illegally to cross.
The Biden administration emphasized in its arguments that the CDC has the authority to end Title 42 because it is a public health regulation, not an immigration regulation.
Judge Robert Summerhays of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, a Trump appointee, heard arguments for and against the request for an injunction over the Title 42 termination plan.
States led by Arizona, Missouri and Louisiana had filed lawsuits alleging the CDC’s move violated the Administrative Procedures Act because they did not provide a notice and comment period for the move. The law also prohibits acts deemed “arbitrary and capricious.” States claim the Biden administration failed to account for the additional cost of taking in more migrants.
Summerhays has said he will make a decision on Title 42 before May 23, the day the Biden administration planned to end it. He has already issued an injunction to keep Title 42 in effect until he offers his final decision.
In late April, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas released a 20-page memo outlining a six-part strategy to deal with the onslaught of migrants after Title 42 ends. Expanding migrant processing capacity, such as building tent structures like the one below, is a pillar of the plan; Deporting, detaining and prosecuting more migrants is another focus, along with ramping up staff and resources to the southern border and cracking down on smugglers, ensuring more support from humanitarian groups and finding new ways to deter Migration.
Photos show the inside of a new massive tent structure being built in Eagle Pass, Texas
Ready cleaning supplies are pictured above for the Eagle Pass tent structure that will house migrants
Border Patrol erected the new structure ahead of the scheduled end of Title 42 next week
The CDC announced in April that Track 42 was “no longer required” after “considering current public health conditions and an increased availability of tools to combat COVID-19.”
Over 1.8 million people have been deported under Title 42 since April 2020, most of them under the Biden administration.
In March there were 221,000 arrests on the southern border, the highest number in a single month since the early 2000s. Department of Homeland Security officials, meanwhile, have said they are preparing for up to 18,000 non-Title 42 encounters a day.
However, some border officials and experts have said the number of encounters at the southern border without Title 42 could potentially decline due to fewer repeated attempts to cross the border. Migrants who are expelled under Title 42 are not penalized for attempting an illegal crossing, so they often make multiple attempts.
But immigrants deported under expedited deportation face a five-year re-entry ban for the first offense and up to 10- and 20-year bans for subsequent offenses.
In late April, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas released a 20-page memo outlining a six-part strategy to deal with the onslaught of migrants after Title 42 ends
Expanding migrant processing capacity, such as building tent structures like the one below, is a pillar of the plan
Deporting, detaining and prosecuting more migrants is another pillar, along with ramping up staff and resources on the southern border and cracking down on smugglers, securing more help from humanitarian groups and finding new ways to deter migration
Over 1.8 million people have been deported under Title 42 since April 2020, most of them under the Biden administration
Meanwhile, a growing number of moderate Democrats have joined with Republicans who are demanding a vote to keep Title 42 in exchange for the federal government getting another $10 billion to help fight the pandemic.
Senate Republicans first blocked the Covid-19 relief bill in April after Democrats refused to vote on an amendment to prevent the Biden administration from repealing Title 42.
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said last week, “There is a growing willingness to bring this up and get the necessary amendment votes to get a final vote.”
Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Patty Murray, D-Wash., no. 2 and No. 3 Senate Democrats told Politico last week the vote on the amendment was worth holding to push through Covid-19 aid.
Five Democratic senators — Arizona’s Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Kelly, West Virginia’s Joe Manchin, Georgia’s Raphael Warnock and New Hampshire’s Maggie Hassan — even joined the Republicans in proposing a bill that would allow titles to last 42 to 60 days must remain in effect The CDC declares the end of the public health emergency.
Asylum-seeking migrants from Mexico and Central America walk near the San Ysidro Port of Entry border crossing with the United States in Tijuana, Mexico, March 5.
In March there were 221,000 arrests on the southern border, the highest number in a single month since the early 2000s