The Biden administration announced Friday it would lift Title 42 restrictions as early as next month, a move expected to trigger a rush of migrants at the southern border.
“After considering current public health conditions and an increased availability of tools to combat COVID-19 (such as high-potency vaccines and therapeutics), the CDC Director has determined that an order suspending the right of entry of migrants into the United States is no longer required,” the Centers for Disease Control said in a statement.
The order was first implemented by the Trump administration in March 2020 and was used to expel most migrants at the border. In February, 55 percent of people arriving at the border were turned away under the order.
Both Republicans and Democrats have warned the president not to drop Title 42 until he has a finalized plan to deal with the expected wave of migration.
Since Biden took office in January 2021, the CBP has encountered more than 2.2 million migrants and the border — and that number could even triple with the end of Title 42
US Border Patrol agents in the Del Rio sector stopped a truck March 25 and discovered dozens of migrants being smuggled
New Hampshire Senator Maggie Hassen tweeted Wednesday, “I am concerned that there is not an adequate plan in place to deal with the sharp increase in border crossings that may result from this reported decision.”
“This pre-emptive suspension threatens border security at a time when the administration should focus on strengthening it,” she added.
Moderate Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema said Wednesday that she and fellow Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly have spoken with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) about not ending Title 42 until other border security measures are in place.
“We spoke to the @DHSgov secretary about the government’s Title 42 contingency plans after we sent him a letter to the President urging him not to end Title 42 without a comprehensive plan to support border communities,” Sinema tweeted Wednesday about her and Kelly’s meeting.
She said in a statement after her border state electors and illegal frontiers meeting, “Ending Title 42 without a comprehensive plan puts the health and safety of migrants and communities in Arizona at risk.”
Sinema is chair of the Senate Subcommittee on Border Management.
“There is still no adequate plan or coordination to end Title 42 without further straining our law enforcement agencies, border communities and nonprofit organizations that provide migrant humanitarian assistance,” Arizona Junior Senator Kelly said a statement on meeting with DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to discuss the Administration’s Title 42 Contingency Plan.
“We will continue to push the Biden administration for the resources and support Arizona on our southern border during this crisis,” Kelly added.
The Biden administration announced on Thursday that it would immediately deport illegal migrants with or without Title 42.
White House communications director Kate Bedingfield assured Americans that undocumented immigration was still an illegal act.
“To be clear, individuals who cross the border without legal authorization are immediately placed on deportation procedures and, if they cannot certify their residency in the United States, are expeditiously returned to their countries,” Bedingfield said.
More than 1.6 million migrants – mostly single adults and family units – have been expelled under Title 42 by both Trump and Biden.
However, under the Biden administration, unaccompanied boys and girls under the age of 18 who were smuggled from Mexico to the United States remain exempt from Title 42 deportation.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has reported 838,685 encounters along the 1,954-mile southwest border region since October 1, 2021, the start of fiscal year 2022. The totals are on track to surpass the 1,734,686 bans for fiscal 2021
The White House admitted there will be an “influx” of frontier workers after officials told Reuters the Trump-era COVID restrictions would end in seven weeks to allow law enforcement and immigration officials to prepare.
The delayed effective date of Title 42 would give U.S. border agencies time to plan for its end, the official said.
Immigrant groups have been pushing for an end to Title 42, which was enacted by former President Donald Trump but continued by Biden and upheld in court.
The order was issued at the start of the pandemic, when the spread of the coronavirus was rampant in crowded border facilities.
A caravan of migrants, tired of waiting under Mexico’s migrant protection protocols, has begun marching toward the US, even pushing through police trying to stop them.
Migrants stranded in Tapachula take to the streets in Tapachula, Mexico, on March 1
Officials have predicted a migratory rush with the end of Title 42
Migrants stranded in Tapachula take part in a caravan bound for the United States April 1 in Tapachula, Mexico, after impatiently waiting for the humanitarian visa to cross the country
Since then, more than a million migrants arrested at the border have been swiftly deported to Mexico or other countries, often within hours of being caught under Title 42.
The sweeping pandemic-related expulsion policies have effectively paralyzed the US asylum system on the border with Mexico because officials are not required to hear Title 42 asylum requests. This has prompted Democrats, medical experts, immigration advocates and the United Nations to urge the US to end the Corona rule.
Republicans argue that ending Title 42 will encourage more migrants to enter the US illegally — especially after reports warned of a massive influx of migrants once the policy is dropped.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have been warned to prepare for a tripling of illegal border crossings, which are already at record levels.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials confirmed Tuesday they are prepared for migrant flows to reach a “very high” contingency of 18,000 people per day. That would equate to more than 500,000 per month.
Current plans also factor in a rate of 12,000 per day and the current increased rate of around 6,000 to 7,000 per day.
At least 170,000 migrants are reportedly waiting on the Mexico side of the border to immediately travel to the US and seek asylum once they can no longer be turned away on pandemic grounds.