The Biden administration is preparing to deal with an influx of migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border as Title 42 comes to an end, reports Politico.
A federal judge in November ruled that the U.S. government could no longer use the COVID-era policy that allowed authorities to severely limit asylum-seekers from crossing the border into the country and ordered that it expire on Dec. 21.
The Department of Homeland Security on Thursday in an emergency update said it would add personnel, transportation, medical support and facilities to help border officials ahead of the expected surge once the policy lifts, a move that comes days after a wave of unauthorized immigrants entered the U.S. through El Paso.
But the agency warned preparations were being done "within the constraints of a decades-old immigration system that everyone agrees is broken."
"A real solution can only come from legislation that brings long-overdue and much-needed reform to a fundamentally broken system," Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement.
U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, said Customs and Border Protection officials told him Wednesday that about 50,000 migrants are believed to be waiting to cross once Title 42 is lifted.
Authorities plan to admit those seeking asylum who go through ports of entry but return to Mexico those who cross illegally between official crossings, Cuellar said in an interview. It was unclear how they will return persons of nationalities that Mexico won't accept — including Cubans and Nicaraguans — and are difficult to send home due to strained diplomatic relations and other challenges.
The Department of Homeland Security didn't indicate how many immigrants may cross the border when Title 42 ends. Earlier this year, they expected as many as 18,000 a day — a staggering number. In May, migrants were stopped an average of 7,800 times a day, the peak month of Joe Biden's presidency.
The DHS could "very likely" revive a "transit ban" model championed by former President Donald Trump's immigration adviser Stephen Miller that would prohibit migrants from applying for asylum in the U.S. unless they were first turned away for safe harbor by another country. But people familiar with the discussion told Politico a final decision will be made within the next week or so.
The Biden administration is also considering expanding humanitarian parole programs for Haitians, Cubans and Nicaraguans.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre earlier this month said the Biden administration "is committed to continuing to secure our borders while maintaining safe, orderly and humane processing of migrants. This will remain the case when Title 42 is lifted. Reports that indicate U.S. policy will change are inaccurate; no such decisions have been made."
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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