There are fears among Biden administration officials that the southern border crisis actually could get much worse if COVID-19 policies end, Axios reported.
Intelligence officials are preparing for "a mass migration event" of more than 170,000 migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border if Title 42 goes away, sources with direct knowledge told Axios.
Title 42, which permits expulsion of illegal migrants because of the dangers of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, is set to expire April 1. Border officials have used the statue more than 1 million times to rapidly expel migrants without hearing asylum claims.
Two recent conflicting court rulings — one ordering an expansion of Title 42, and the other imposing new limitations on it — have increased pressure on the Biden administration to end the statute, which wasn’t created to be permanent.
Officials from several federal agencies have been discussing a comprehensive plan to deal with "the potentially record-breaking spring influx of migrants," Axios said.
The Department of Homeland has branded it the "Southwest Border Mass Irregular Migration Contingency Plan."
Axios said a "Southwest Border Coordination Center (SBCC)," essentially a war room to coordinate an interagency response, has been created in preparation for post-Title 42.
Aircraft from the U.S. Marshals Service and additional ground transportation from the Department of Defense and the Bureau of Prisons could be requested by DHS to help transfer migrants to other areas of the border.
Facilities that can shelter up to 2,000 migrants each might need to be built, Axios said.
About 25,000 migrants could be in Mexican shelters waiting for Title 42 to end, according to DHS estimates, Axios reported.
DHS Deputy Secretary John Tien on Wednesday asked employees "to consider stepping forward to support the DHS volunteer force" as a way to gather general support for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, according to an email seen by Axios.
White House spokesperson Vedant Patel released a statement to Axios that said, "Of course the administration is doing our due diligence to prepare for potential changes at the border."
"That is good government in action,” Patel's statement said. "As always is the case, this Administration is working every day to provide relief to immigrants, restore order, fairness, and humanity to our immigration system and bring it into the 21st century."
A total of 164,973 border encounters with migrants is below last year's peak (213,593) but higher than the month a year before.
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