The Biden administration announced Friday it will be lifting Title 42 restrictions as soon as next month, and Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin called. the plan ‘frightening.’
The move that was expected to trigger an onslaught of migrants at the southern border.
‘Today’s announcement by the CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] and the Biden Administration is a frightening decision,’ Manchin, W. Va., said in a statement.
‘Title 42 has been an essential tool in combatting the spread of COVID-19 and controlling the influx of migrants at our southern border. We are already facing an unprecedented increase in migrants this year, and that will only get worse if the Administration ends the Title 42 policy,’ Manchin warned.
‘After considering current public health conditions and an increased availability of tools to fight COVID-19 (such as highly effective vaccines and therapeutics), the CDC Director has determined that an Order suspending the right to introduce migrants into the United States is no longer necessary,’ the Centers for Disease Control said in a statement.
The order was first implemented by the Trump administration in March 2020 and has been used to expel most migrants at the border. In February, 55 percent of people who arrived at the border were turned away due to the order.
Both Republicans and Democrats have warned the president not to drop Title 42 until he has a fleshed-out plan in place to handle the wave of migration that is expected.
The CDC confirmed the move as shocking photos emerged from Mexico showing migrants in a caravan clashing with police during their journey north to the U.S.
Migrants stranded in Tapachula face off members of security forces standing guard as they take part in a caravan towards the U.S. after growing impatient of waiting for the humanitarian visa to cross the country, in Tapachula, Mexico April 1
Officials have predicted an onslaught of migration with the end of Title 42
New Hampshire Senator Maggie Hassen tweeted Wednesday: ‘I am concerned that there is not a sufficient plan in place to address the steep increase in border crossings that could result from this reported decision.’
‘This preemptive repeal threatens border security at a time when the administration should be focused on strengthening it,’ she added.
Moderate Democratic Senator Kyrsten Sinema said Wednesday that she and fellow Arizona Senator Mark Kelly spoke with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) about not ending Title 42 until there are other safeguards in place at the border.
‘We spoke with the @DHSgov Secretary about the administration’s Title 42 contingency plans following our letter to the President urging him not to end Title 42 without a comprehensive plan to support border communities,’ Sinema tweeted Wednesday of her and Kelly’s meeting.
She said in a statement following the meeting of her border state constituents and illegal border crossers: ‘Ending Title 42 without a comprehensive plan in place puts at risk the health and safety of migrants and Arizona communities.’
Sinema is chairwoman of the Senate Subcommittee on Border Management.
‘There is still not an adequate plan or sufficient coordination to end Title 42 without further straining our law enforcement, border communities, and nonprofits providing humanitarian assistance to migrants,’ junior Arizona Senator Kelly said in a statement on the meeting with DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to discuss the Administration’s Title 42 contingency plan.
‘We’ll continue to push the Biden administration for the resources and support Arizona needs amid this crisis at our southern border,’ Kelly added.
The Biden administration announced Thursday it would immediately deport illegal migrants with or without Title 42.
White House Communications Director Kate Bedingfield reassured Americans that undocumented immigration was still an illegal act.
‘To be clear, people who cross the border without legal authorization will be placed immediately in deportation procedures and, if they cannot certify their stay in the United States, they will be returned quickly to their countries,’ Bedingfield said.
More than 1.6 million migrants – mostly single adults and family units – have been expelled under Title 42 by both Trump and Biden.
However, under the Biden administration, unaccompanied boys and girls under 18 who were smuggled from Mexico to the United States remain exempt from being expelled under Title 42.
Migrants leave in a caravan in the city of Tapachula, state of Chiapas, Mexico, 01 April
Since Biden took office in January 2021, CBP has encountered more than 2.2 million migrants and the border – and that number could as much as triple with the end of Title 42
U.S. Border Patrol agents with the Del Rio Sector pulled over a truck and discovered dozens of migrants being smuggled on March 25
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has reported 838,685 encounters along the 1,954-mile southwestern border region since October 1, 2021, the beginning of fiscal year 2022. The totals are on pace to surpass the 1,734,686 interdictions for fiscal year 2021
The White House admitted there will be an ‘influx’ of border crossers after officials told Reuters the Trump-era COVID restrictions were coming to an end in seven weeks to allow law enforcement and immigration agencies to prepare.
The delayed effective date to end Title 42 would give U.S. border authorities time to plan for its end, the official said.
Immigration groups have been pushing for an end to Title 42, which was enacted by former President Donald Trump but was continued and upheld in court by Biden.
The order was put in place at the onset of the pandemic as the spread of coronavirus ran rampant at crowded border facilities.
A caravan of migrants who have grown tired of waiting in Mexico under the Migrant Protection Protocols have started marching toward the U.S. even forcing their way through police trying to stop them in their tracks.
A caravan of migrants who have grown tired of waiting in Mexico under the Migrant Protection Protocols have started marching toward the U.S. even forcing their way through police trying to stop them in their tracks
Migrants stranded in Tapachula take part in a caravan towards the U.S. after growing impatient of waiting for the humanitarian visa to cross the country, in Tapachula, Mexico April 1
Since then, more than a million migrants apprehended at the border have been rapidly expelled to Mexico or other countries, often within hours of being caught under the Title 42.
The sweeping, pandemic-related expulsion policy has effectively closed down the U.S. asylum system at the border with Mexico as officials don’t have to hear asylum claims under Title 42. This has led Democrats, medical experts, immigration advocates and the United Nations to urge the U.S. to end the coronavirus-era rule.
Republicans argue ending Title 42 will encourage more migrants to enter the U.S. illegally – especially after reports warn of a massive influx of migration once the policy is dropped.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) were warned to prepare for illegal border crossings, which are already at record-high levels, to triple.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials confirmed Tuesday that they are prepared for migrant flows to reach a ‘very high’ contingency of 18,000 people per day. This would equate to more than 500,000 each month.
Current plans also account for a 12,000-per-day rate, and for the current elevated rate of about 6,000 to 7,000 each day.
At least 170,000 migrants, according to reports, are waiting on the Mexico side of the border to immediately travel to the U.S. and seek asylum once they can no longer be turned away for pandemic reasons.
