Biden administration outlines added measures to deal with expected Title 42 fallout

The Biden administration Wednesday announced additional measures it will implement to respond to the expected fallout of Title 42’s Thursday expiration.

Administration officials have been preparing for months for the end of Title 42, a Trump-era policy allowing immigration officials to more quickly expel asylum-seeking migrants attempting to cross the border. The law was tied to the declaration of a COVID-19 public health emergency, which ends this week.

With a surge of migrants at the southern border expected to enter the country following Thursday’s change, administration officials detailed a series of steps that fall under three broad categories: enforcement, deterrence and diplomacy.

It also unveiled a rule set to take effect just before midnight Thursday that would impose a series of restrictions on those wishing to apply for asylum.

The administration will surge resources to the border to improve processing efficiency, a senior administration official said. The steps being taken include sending 24,000 law enforcement personnel and 1,100 new border patrol processing coordinators to the U.S.-Mexico border.

Biden last week announced he would send 1,500 military personnel to the southern border to assist in an administrative capacity.

In another effort to improve efficiency, the administration is opening up regional processing centers in locations through Central America, allowing migrants to learn whether they are eligible for a legal pathway of entry into the U.S. without having to leave their home country.

The administration intends to launch an online platform in the coming days where individuals can make an appointment at one of those processing centers, a senior administration official said.

For enforcement purposes, the administration will rely on Title 8, which allows for the expedited deportation of migrants who are encountered between legal ports of entry.

Unlike Title 42, the removal method creates a paper trail and comes with a five-year ban on reentering the U.S.

The administration will also place “significant conditions on asylum eligibility” for those who do not use lawful established pathways, a senior administration official said.

The rule released Wednesday that lays out those conditions hews closely to a Trump-era policy that required would-be asylum applicants to first seek asylum elsewhere and be denied before attempting to get protections in the U.S. 

The Trump policy was struck down in court, leaving immigration advocates horrified the Biden administration would pursue something similar.

Under the Biden policy, those who arrive and apply for asylum without doing so in another country along their route would be presumed ineligible for the protections. It’s a determination they could challenge – one that requires providing even more evidence for the already difficult to secure status.

Administration officials also stressed that efforts to address a potential spike in individuals seeking entry to the U.S. will be a collaborative effort with international partners.

President Biden spoke Tuesday with Mexico President Andrés Manuel López Obrador about various topics, including migration. Officials also pointed to the establishment of the Los Angeles Declaration, a document signed last summer by the U.S. and more than 20 other partners to “work together to address the migration crisis in a comprehensive manner.”

Biden was asked Tuesday by reporters about the impending end of Title 42 and said “it remains to be seen” how things will play out.

“We are doing all we can,” Biden said. “It’s going to be chaotic for a while.”

Rebecca Beitsch contributed.