What you need to know about Title 42's end
- Title 42 is the pandemic-era policy put in place by the Trump administration that immediately expels migrants without providing asylum hearings.
- Title 42 expires at 11:59 p.m. ET tomorrow, in conjunction with the end of the national Covid public health emergency.
- Title 8, the normal immigration law, will replace Title 42. That will allow migrants to apply for legal pathways to enter the U.S.
- Homeland Security officials predict 10,000 migrants will try to cross into the U.S. per day after Title 42 lifts. The numbers have already surpassed that, with 11,000 apprehended Tuesday.
DHS launches campaign to deter smugglers from spreading misinformation
The Department of Homeland Security introduced a digital campaign to prevent human smugglers from spreading misinformation about the lifting of Title 42.
"This campaign adds to our extensive ongoing communications efforts in the region," Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas told reporters Wednesday. "We are making it very clear that our border is not open, that crossing irregularly is against the law and that those who are not eligible for relief will be quickly returned. Do not listen to the lies of the smugglers. This is what will happen to you. You will be returned.”
The campaign, presented in Spanish, shows images of people being deported by plane and warns potential migrants that entering the U.S. without proper documentation is illegal. It will reach people via their cellphones and will direct them to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection landing page.
Record number of migrants crossing into U.S. one day before Title 42 ends
Immigration officials unveil expedited process for families with credible fear claims
Immigration officials announced a new process for families apprehended at the southwest border who are eligible for expedited removal and indicate they will seek asylum or express a fear of persecution or torture if they are deported to their home countries.
The Family Expedited Removal Management will impose a curfew and provide heads of household with GPS ankle monitors for tracking purposes.
The program is designed to ensure that families with credible fear claims appear before immigration judges in a timely manner without being detained. Families whose claims are rejected will be removed from the U.S. within 30 days, immigration officials said.
Title 42 already ended for many crossing the border, official says
The vast majority of the 11,000 migrants who crossed the border Tuesday were not processed under the Title 42 health law, the head of Border Patrol said Wednesday in a media roundtable.
Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz said Wednesday only 17% of Tuesday's border crossers were subjected to Title 42, which allows for speedier expulsion but carries no penalties for those making repeated attempts to cross the border. The rest were handled using Title 8.
Based on Tuesday's numbers, Ortiz said ending Title 42 may not have as much impact as some have projected. But he added that if the daily apprehension numbers climb to 13,000 to 14,000 per day, Title 42's end could be more problematic.
Lawmakers urge Biden to reverse Trump-era sanctions for Cuba and Venezuela
Nineteen members of Congress from border states and states that have received large numbers of migrants urged President Joe Biden in a letter Wednesday to reverse Trump-era sanctions on Cuba and Venezuela. The lawmakers said the sanctions have contributed to ongoing economic instability and driven people from their homelands.
The sanctions on Cuba, imposed in 2020, renewed restrictions on travel, remittances and the designation of Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism. In Venezuela, sanctions dating to 2017 have squeezed the country's oil industry and prevented it from exporting oil to the U.S.
"We must go beyond ineffective deterrence policies and find sustainable and humane solutions to fix our broken immigration system, and that includes — and should start with — legislative reforms by Congress," the letter read in part.
“We urge you to act swiftly to lift the failed and indiscriminate economic sanctions that were imposed by the prior administration, and engage in a broader review of preexisting sanctions policies that your administration inherited, which exacerbate hardship for innocent civilians and serve as additional push-factors for migration.”
The letter was signed by lawmakers from California, Texas, New York and six other states and the delegate from Washington, D.C.
Texas House moves state closer to enforcing immigration laws
Texas has moved closer to expanding its power to enforce immigration laws, a duty considered reserved for federal officials.
A bill approved by the state House on Wednesday would create a Border Protection Unit overseen by the governor. Democrats had killed another bill, HB 20, that did the same, but Republicans gave the proposal new life when they added the language to HB 7 as an amendment. The Senate has not yet considered the legislation.
The bill would allow unit members to arrest and detain people and send people they deem to have entered the country illegally back to Mexico. Democrats were able to amend the legislation to require that members of the unit be commissioned peace officers, among other things, KERA News reported.
Univ. of Texas warns families to expect delays for commencement
As graduates and their families prepare to celebrate commencement this weekend, officials at the University of Texas El Paso warned attendees to expect delays crossing the border.
"Plan ahead if you and your families plan to attend Commencement on May 13 and 14," the school said in a tweet this week.
The university calls itself "America’s leading Hispanic-serving university" with a student body that is 84% Latino, according to the school's website.
