Title 42, a remnant of the Trump administration is ending at the US-Mexico border. The covid restriction was allowing border agents to expel migrants to Mexico. Read to know more about what’s next.
What is Title 42?
The United States is gearing up to lift covid restrictions blocking migrants from seeking asylum at the US-Mexico border since March 2020. At the time, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) called the move a need in stemming the spread of the virus in detention centers. Title 42 was allowing border agents to expel migrants to Mexico. However, some democrats, advocates, and public health experts criticized it. They believe it was a part of former President Trump’s goal of curbing immigration.
While President Biden took office in 2021 with a promise of reversing Trump’s work. However, Title 42 remained as the administration was grappling with a record number of migrants. Since the inception of the regulation, migrants have been rejected or expelled over 2.7 million times. Now, migrants crossing the US-Mexico border can request asylum, a long process that can take as many as five years. According to Brandon Judd, president of the National Border Patrol Council, over 19,000 migrants are currently at the US Customs and Border Protection facilities.
What will happen next?
Once Title 42 is lifted, the Biden administration is planning to place new regulations to deter would-be migrants. It will deny asylum to most of them caught crossing if they passed through another nation on the way to the US, without seeking protection. Authorities are aiming to process people quickly and deport them if they fail the initial screening for seeking asylum.
However, the new regulation is expected to face legal challenges. The CDC previously tried to end Title 42, calling it redundant in the face of vaccines and medication for combatting covid-19. On the other hand, a bipartisan group of U.S. senators is working to pass a bill granting immigration authorities the power to expel migrants back for another two years.