Warnings about the end of Title 42 have varied broadly among political leaders.
Texas Democratic Reps. Joaquín Castro and Greg Casar have called for $38 million in preemptive Federal Emergency Management Agency funding, while former Vice President Mike Pence warned that “a storm is coming.”
In March, U.S. officials encountered more than 191,000 migrants at the border with Mexico; administration officials have said they expect that number to go up significantly with the end of Title 42 on Thursday.
Yet border experts are uncertain about how the policy change will affect conditions on the ground, though most agree that a rise in crossings is likely, potentially through the summer.
Under Title 42, border officials are allowed to expel migrants they encounter at the border immediately, rather than processing them and giving them a chance to claim asylum.
The Border Patrol and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have been implementing both Title 42 — an authority granted to them under the guise of pandemic protections — and Title 8, the regular processing statute for undocumented immigrants at the border.
In April, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that in response to the end of Title 42, it plans to carry out expedited removals using Title 8 authorities and establish two regional centers in Guatemala and Colombia where migrants can apply for asylum or other avenues to immigrate to the U.S.
Biden administration officials say the stiffer penalties of Title 8 removals, which carry a five-year bar on entering the United States, paired with better avenues to seek legal pathways to enter the U.S. will relieve pressure at the border.
While the diplomatic aspect of the administration’s plan has encouraged some progressives on immigration, frustration abounds among advocates over the administration’s reliance on deterrent measures that attempt to scare off migrants.
That and the use of active-duty troops to support Border Patrol and CBP have caused some Democrats to cry foul, saying the administration’s actions perpetuate the false image of migrants as a threat to national security.
Biden last week ordered a temporary deployment of 1,500 active-duty troops to the border for 90 days to assist the border agents. Under federal law, active-duty troops are not allowed to directly enforce policies.
Read the full report at TheHill.com.
