WASHINGTON – What, are they apprehensive?
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stressed on Thursday that the Biden administration – which has already seen a historic number of migrants crossing the southern border with the current Title 42 – “is taking steps to prepare” for the expected increase next week when restrictive COVID-19 expires.
“Look, the American people should know that we have taken steps, we’re taking steps to prepare for the abolition of Title 42 next week,” Jean-Pierre said in his regular press conference, adding, “this is an administration that has taken this very, very seriously”.
Hundreds of migrants from countries around the world are expected to cross the southern border on Wednesday when the Title 42 policy ends according to a court order in a case brought by the American Civil Liberties Union.
AND A Washington Post report said in March that without the title 42, the southern border could exceed as many as 18,000 people a day – almost thrice greater than today, as people flee Colombia, Venezuela and other areas of Central and South America.
Even before the end of Title 42, illegal border crossings broke records that critics blamed on watering down border enforcement and Biden’s decision to end a policy requiring migrants to stay in Mexico pending a court ruling on their asylum claims.
![Hundreds of migrants, many from Nicaragua, wait at a border crossing in El Paso, Texas, December 12, 2022.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/biden-weighing-rule-ban-asylum-seekers-004.jpg?w=1024)
Nearly 2.4 million people were apprehended after illegally entering the US in fiscal 2022, which ended Sept. 30 – up from 1.7 million in fiscal yr 2021, lower than 500,000 in fiscal yr 2020 and nearly 1 million in fiscal yr 2019. These figures don’t include migrants who’ve evaded detection.
Nevertheless, Jean-Pierre insisted: “The court requires us to abolish Title 42, and we plan to comply with that order. Notwithstanding Title 42, every body encountered at the border is screened and processed by Border Patrol agents before being subjected to the removal procedure.”
“The Department of Homeland Security was on top of it. We’re prepared. We’re ready to do it in a humane and protected way. So this is something the president has been working on since day one of his administration.”
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Nineteen Republican-led states they ask DC’s federal appeals court to uphold rules issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that allow for the speedy deportation of most individuals who cross the border illegally.
When Title 42 expires next week, most migrants who cross the border and seek asylum are likely to be released as outstanding US courts assess their persecution claims.
The Biden administration has already relaxed the enforcement of Title 42, which was strictly enforced in 2020 under the Trump administration. When Biden took office, he exempted unaccompanied children from speedy deportation under the regulations, and over time, increasingly families and single adults were allowed to remain in the US.
![Migrants wait to board a U.S. government bus after crossing the border from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico to El Paso, Monday, December 12, 2022.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/white-house-taking-steps-prep-migrant-wave-03-1.jpg?w=1024)
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told wa Tuesday edition“Once the Title 42 order expires, DHS will process those encountered at the border without proper travel documents using its long-running Title 8 authorities, which have significant ramifications, including a re-entry ban for five individuals who have been removed for years.” These implications include referral for expedited removal, allowing DHS to quickly repatriate individuals who don’t have any legal basis to stay in the United States.”
Mayorkas said that criminal cartels that effectively control border crossings are spreading “misinformation” that anyone crossing the border will likely be allowed to stay in the US, when the truth is they might eventually be ordered to leave the country.
“We all know that smugglers will spread disinformation to make the most of vulnerable migrants. Let me be clear: Title 42 or not, those unable to establish a legal basis to remain in the United States will likely be removed,” Mayorkas said.