President Joe Biden said the U.S.-Mexico border may be "chaotic for a while" as Title 42, the 2020 restriction on migrants, expires this week.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Title 42 was implemented to return migrants over the border quickly, but the policy ends Thursday, the Associated Press reports. The public health law allowed the U.S. to expel about 2.8 million migrants without a chance of being granted asylum since it was put into place in March 2020.
According to CBN News, the U.S. has sent some 1,500 troops to the border to prepare for a surge of migrants expected after the policy expires. Plans are also underway to expand holding facilities and bring in more immigration officers to help process applications for asylum.
Meanwhile, the U.S. is working to push through new policies that would restrict illegal crossings but offer a legal path to the U.S. through an application with a sponsor and background checks.
"We believe we have a robust process to deal with what is going to occur after Title 42 lifts. Again, we're using the tools that are available to us because Congress refuses to do their job as it relates to the border," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Tuesday.
When the old policy lapses, only 1,000 migrants will be allowed to be processed for asylum each day, but experts say it's likely that 10,000 migrants will arrive each day.
"So they're more or less saying, we're going to process 1,000 and everyone else, 'you're going to have to go cross illegally,'" said David Bier, associate director of Immigration Studies at the Cato Institute. "And that's what's going to happen."
Large groups of migrants are already nearing the border and waiting for the policy to expire. About 100 people from Columbia are staged east of San Diego.
This week, the U.S. Border Patrol reports apprehending some 26,000 migrants in 72 hours.
Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/John Moore/Staff
Amanda Casanova is a writer living in Dallas, Texas. She has covered news for ChristianHeadlines.com since 2014. She has also contributed to The Houston Chronicle, U.S. News and World Report and IBelieve.com. She blogs at The Migraine Runner.
