(The Center Square) – Immigrants, border towns and the Department of Homeland Security are gearing up for Thursday when Title 42 Covid emergency restrictions will be lifted. Title 42 empowered the Director of the Center for Disease Control to suspend immigration into the United States starting in the early days of the Covid pandemic, in order to protect public health. The title allowed Border Patrol agents to quickly return immigrants to Mexico.
Last Monday the Biden administration announced that 1,500 active duty soldiers would be sent to the border in anticipation of the tens of thousands of immigrants expected to arrive at the crossing. The troops will be in place by May 10. US Homeland Security officials clarified that their presence there is administrative, and not one of law enforcement.
Additionally, the administration will send 480 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services workers to conduct asylum interviews at the border. The most recent border rules have come under scrutiny for their similarity to the previous administration’s handling of the border.
New regulations would deny applications from immigrants who pass through other countries without first seeking safety there, and applicants will have to wait in Mexico for an answer.
California has taken a wait and see approach to the end of Title 42. Governor Gavin Newsom has not made any announcements about plans to prepare for a potential influx of immigrants.
“Biden’s administration plans to replace the inhumane Title 42 policy enacted under the Trump administration with a similarly dangerous one, taken straight from the Trump administration’s playbook,” the ACLU lamented.
The US reached an agreement with Mexico last week. The Mexican government would accept deportees from the US for citizens of Venezuela, Cuba, Haiti and Nicaragua.
The state of Texas, as well as Texas border town Brownsville extended its disaster declaration which was put in place following a surge at its border at the end of April. El Paso declared a state of emergency on May 1 to prepare for the influx of immigrants the title 42 expiration is expected to bring. An estimated 15,000 people have already gathered at Ciudad Juarez waiting for Thursday, to begin crossing. Texas Governor Greg Abbott became known for bussing immigrants to Democrat-run cities last year. In a May 1 letter to Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Abbott stated his intention to continue bussing immigrants to sanctuary cities.
“To provide much-needed relief to our overrun border communities, Texas began busing migrants to sanctuary cities such as your “Welcoming City,” along with Washington, D.C., New York City, and Philadelphia, with more to come.” Abbott said, “Until Biden secures the border to stop the inflow of mass migration, Texas will continue this necessary program.”
Katrina Eiland, Managing Attorney for California ACLU Immigrants Rights Project stated in a May 4 podcast, “I think the longer Title 42 has gone on it, it has actually created a difficult situation where there is sort of a backup of people who have been waiting for a long time in order to access the system.”
Enrique Lucero, Tijuana’s Director of Immigrant Affairs, has noted that immigrants are now coming from places as far as Kazakhstan, Mauritania, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.
Immigrants gathering at the Mexican side of the border, access services and food from churches and nonprofits as they await the lifting of the title.
For over a year the US Department of Homeland Security has been preparing for the end of the Covid era regulation, with a six-pillar plan. DHS will process immigrants for removal under Title 8 after Thursday, promising a more strict enforcement.
“Under Title 8, those who attempt to enter the United States without authorization, and who are unable to establish a legal basis to remain in the United States (such as a valid asylum claim), are subject to additional long-term consequences beyond removal from the United States, including bars to future immigration benefits,” DHS Fact Sheet stated.
Almost 3 million expulsions have taken place under Title 42.
In December 2022, the last time Title 42 was scheduled to end, Newsom had more to say. He told ABC News the system was about to “break.”
“The fact is, what we’ve got right now is not working, and it’s about to break in a post-42 world unless we take some responsibility and ownership,” said Newsom. “I’m saying that as a Democrat. I’m not saying that to point fingers. I’m saying that as a father, I’m saying that as someone that feels responsible for being part of the solution, and I’m trying to do my best here,” Newsom said.
This article First appeared in the center square