Title 42, the rule that allowed the expulsion of 2.8 million migrants from the United States since the start of the pandemic, was suspended this morning, raising fears of a greater immigration crisis.
In force since March 2020, Title 42, implemented by former President Donald Trump and maintained by the Joe Biden administration, ceased to be in effect at midnight (05:00 in Lisbon).
The rule allowed law enforcement to quickly send asylum seekers back to US borders, on the grounds of preventing the spread of the novel coronavirus.
While Title 42 has prevented many immigrants from applying for asylum, it has had no legal consequences, encouraging back-to-back entry attempts.
Migrants who arrive in the United States after midnight will be subject to Title 8, the norm that historically governs the immigration process.
“They will presumably not be entitled to asylum and will be subject to more serious consequences for illegal entry, including a minimum five-year ban and possible criminal prosecution,” the Homeland Security secretary said Thursday.
“Don’t believe the lies of human traffickers. The southern border of the country is not open,” added Alejandro Mayorkas.
Thousands of migrants were this Thursday at the border with Mexico, hoping to enter the United States in the last hours before Title 42 ends, something that many feared could hinder the asylum process.
Joe Biden has been announcing new policies to replace Title 42, including cracking down on illegal crossings and creating legal means for immigrants to apply online, obtain a sponsor, and undergo background checks.
If successful, the reforms could fundamentally change the way migrants arrive at the US-Mexico border.
Even so, the US head of state himself admitted that the southern border will be “chaotic for a while.”
On Thursday, Alejandro Mayorkas said that the personnel in the border zone has been reinforced: “We are increasing to 24,000 Border Patrol agents, 4,000 soldiers, 1,000 employees and asylum judges.”
Mayorkas confirmed to expect a large number of illegal immigrant apprehensions on the border with Mexico, numbers that have already begun to rise in the final hours of Title 42.
The secretary mentioned the measures that the Joe Biden Executive has adopted in recent weeks to face what is expected to be a major immigration crisis and assured that his country applies harsher consequences against those who enter the United States illegally.
“During the first semester of this fiscal year we have expelled more than 665,000 people, we are carrying out dozens of deportation flights every week and we continue to increase them,” Mayorkas said.
Source: TSF
