[ad_1]
Migrants gather at the Mexican border in the United States as the US prepares to lift a COVID-19 ban on Thursday night that has barred hundreds of thousands of migrants caught on the US-Mexico border from seeking asylum since 2020, a move that has led to spike in illegal crossings and heightened political tensions.
What is Title 42?
The COVID-19 restrictions, known as Title 42, were first enacted under Republican president Donald Trump in March 2020 at the start of the pandemic. At the time, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the order was needed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in crowded detention settings.
Title 42 allows border agents to quickly deport large numbers of migrants to Mexico, but some public health experts, Democrats and lawyers have criticized the health justification, saying it is part of Trump’s goal to curb legal and illegal immigration.
President Joe Biden, a Democrat, took office in 2021 vowing to reverse Trump’s restrictive approach, but kept Title 42 in place and expanded it while his administration held record detentions of migrants at the US-Mexico border.
WATCH | Migrants line the US-Mexico border:
The Trump-era emergency law known as Title 42 has blocked many migrants from crossing the Mexican border into the U.S. With the law set to expire, thousands of people, including many children, are waiting in tent cities near the border hoping to enter.
Since its inception, migrants have been deported more than 2.7 million times under Title 42, although the total includes many repeat crossers and Mexico generally accepts only certain nationalities.
What happened today?
The Biden administration is set to lift Title 42 on Thursday at 11:59 a.m. ET when the US’s COVID-19 public health emergency ends.
Migrants caught crossing the US-Mexico border will once again be able to apply for asylum. However, the new regulation Biden finalized this week could deny asylum to most of those who cross illegally.
Even with tougher new asylum standards, U.S. border officials are bracing for an increase in the possibility of illegal crossings, a result of pent-up demand and perceptions among migrants who will be allowed to enter.
The number of migrants apprehended at the border with Mexico has risen by more than 10,000 per day this week, surpassing the scenario outlined by US border officials last month. Some migrants say they plan to enter the U.S. before the new asylum restrictions come into effect.
What are the plans if title 42 doesn’t exist?
Biden’s new regulation that limits asylum to migrants who cross illegally will take effect after Title 42 expires.
Under these regulations, most migrants will be considered ineligible for asylum if they pass through another country without seeking protection elsewhere or if they fail to use legal channels to enter the US.
U.S. authorities process migrants over several days and quickly deport them if they fail the initial asylum screening.
Nearly 500 US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) personnel will be deployed to assist with interviews and the Pentagon will send 1,500 troops to temporarily support the Border Patrol.
Biden’s new legislation that speeds access to asylum is expected to face legal challenges. The administration could also struggle to detain migrants at the border and quickly deport them without additional funding from Congress.
Can US courts or Congress uphold Title 42?
A last-minute legal intervention to block the Title 42 termination appears unlikely, but it is not known whether the court battle could resume.
The CDC is trying in April 2022 to end Title 42, saying it is no longer necessary to limit the spread of COVID-19 due to vaccines and other medical advances.
But a federal judge in Louisiana blocked the termination after a challenge brought by two dozen US states with Republican attorneys general, who argued that increased migration would saddle the state with costs.
WATCH | Homeland Security chief on security, humanitarian obligations to combat human trafficking:
Canadian Exclusive Rosemary Barton Live with US Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas discusses cross-border activities such as guns, drugs and migration.
The U.S. Supreme Court removed a different Title 42 case from its argument calendar in February after the administration said the order would end at the same time as the COVID-19 emergency.
Separately, a bipartisan group of US senators is trying to pass a bill that would give immigration authorities the power to deport migrants back to Mexico for another two years, though prospects for passage are unclear.
The Republican-controlled US House of Representatives aims to pass a bill on Thursday that would strengthen border enforcement, but the measure faces long hurdles in the Senate, where Democrats hold a narrow majority.
How did the US border town respond?
US border cities are grappling with a new surge in migrant arrivals and bracing for the possibility of even more when Title 42 ends.
The Texas cities of Brownsville, El Paso and Laredo have issued emergency declarations.
El Paso is opening emergency shelters in two vacant schools because existing shelters are at capacity this week, according to local news reports.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott this week stepped up his ongoing campaign to use National Guard troops to secure the border, announcing new tactical forces that will be “deployed to hot spots” to “intercept and deport” migrants.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat whose city has received thousands of migrants on buses from Texas, on Wednesday suspended several New York City rules that guarantee shelter to anyone in need of housing.
Adams issued an executive order calling it an “unprecedented humanitarian crisis” caused by the influx of asylum seekers.
[ad_2]
Source link