Over 10K migrants nabbed at border as Title 42 end nears
More than 10,000 migrants were apprehended while trying to illegally enter the US Wednesday — the third straight day of record-high numbers — as Department of Homeland Security agents prepare for the end of Title 42 with riot drills and training exercises.
Agents with US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) continued their record-setting pace Wednesday, the third consecutive day of apprehending a never-before-recorded number of migrants, Fox reported. The figure is expected to be even higher when more thoroughly tallied.
More than 11,000 migrants — up from the 10,300-plus previously reported — were arrested Tuesday, according to NBC News, setting the all-time record. Over 10,000 were also reportedly nabbed Monday.
As thousands more migrants flooded over the border in the hours leading up to the expiration of Title 42, authorities sought to boost their own numbers at the border
CBP is seeking volunteers from coastal and northern sectors to temporarily relocate to the southwest border “to enhance processing, transportation and custody capabilities,” the Daily Caller reported, citing an inter-agency memo.
Meanwhile, approximately 24,000 law enforcement officers have been stationed along the US-Mexico border, in addition to the deployment of 1,500 active-duty troops and 2,500 National Guard members to lend logistical support.
Officials have warned they expect up to 13,000 migrants to attempt to enter the country each day after Title 42’s end.
As detention facilities were overwhelmed with the number of migrants taken in, Border Patrol chief Raul Ortiz ordered large numbers of them to be released into the US without immigration court dates as a way of coping with the situation.
A video posted to Instagram Wednesday showed dozens of uniformed agents conducting training drills in preparation for Thursday’s deadline.
The footage showed the agents, clad in riot gear, as they stand and run in front of the San Ysidro Port of Entry, located along the border between San Diego and Mexico.
An announcement blared in English and Spanish: “Attention, the San Ysidro Port of Entry is conducting a training exercise, normal operations will continue shortly. Thank you for your patience.”
According to data obtained by The Post, up to 16,000 migrants are waiting to cross into San Diego from Tijuana, while as many as 35,000 were waiting in Mexico’s Ciudad Juarez to cross into El Paso.
The Texas cities of Brownsville, El Paso and Laredo have declared states of emergency.
Meanwhile, officials in Arizona are urging authorities to declare a federal emergency, NBC reported.
Mayors from the border towns of Yuma, Nogales, Somerton San Luis and Douglas called for the emergency declaration that would provide FEMA aid and other assurances, according to the report.
The impending migrant surge, the mayors reportedly said, “is not sustainable long-term.”
Title 42 is a pandemic-era measure that has allowed the Border Patrol to swiftly eject migrants from certain countries without hearing their asylum claims, citing public health reasons.
What is Title 42 and what does its end mean for US border immigration?
What is Title 42?
Title 42 is a federal health measure enforced by the US Border Patrol. It allows the agency to kick certain migrants out of the US and return them to Mexico. This includes asylum seekers, who under international law have the legal right to make an asylum claim in America.
Currently, migrants who cross the border illegally and who are from Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua or Venezuela are subject to Title 42 and could be sent to Mexico.
How did Title 42 start?
President Donald Trump invoked the law in 2020 at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, asking the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to issue the policy. The Trump administration made the case that keeping migrants out of the country would slow down the spread of infections and maintain the safety of federal agents encountering migrants.
What has happened with Title 42 under Biden?
When President Biden took over, he continued to enforce Title 42 with one important change from his predecessor. Biden said Border Patrol agents were only allowed to expel migrants from certain countries under his direction. That meant migrants seeking asylum from countries like Cuba and Venezuela could still seek asylum if they arrived at the border and stay in the US while their cases were decided in court — unless they had a criminal record.
What is happening with Title 42 now?
Title 42 is supposed to be a health policy, not an immigration law. It will end at 11:59 p.m. May 11, when the Biden administration ends all COVID-19-related policies.
Why is it controversial?
Many have called for the policy’s end, saying it’s illegal and that international law guarantees people the right to seek asylum.
Others, like Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, warn that the southern border could see up to 13,000 migrants per day crossing with the intention to stay in the country when the measure ends.
What would the end of Title 42 mean for immigration into the US?
It’s unclear exactly how many people have been expelled under Title 42 because there have been scores of people who have attempted to enter the country numerous times and been rejected again and again, but the US Border Patrol said it made an all-time high of more than 2.3 million arrests at the border in the last fiscal year. Forty percent of people who were expelled from the country were ejected under the rules of Title 42.
The federal policy was enacted under President Donald Trump and is among those being lifted by his successor.
Once the policy expires, migrants are subject to Title 8, a rule that involves longer processing times but includes penalties that were not options under Title 42, with those crossing into the country liable to be deported and subjected to a five-year ban on entering the US.
The Biden administration has said it plans to deny asylum to those who don’t take the necessary steps and apply for asylum from outside of the US before travelling to the border from Thursday when Title 42 ends.
The administration has also announced plans to establish 100 migration hubs throughout the Western Hemisphere, two of which will be located in Guatemala and Colombia.
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