After more than three years of the pandemic, the United States is getting ready to scrap COVID-19 restrictions at the border with the lifting of Title 42.
The rules that have prevented migrants from seeking asylum will officially end at 11:59 pm ET Thursday as the public health emergency expires.
This comes as the Biden administration ended the national emergency to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic last month after a U.S. Congress vote on April 11.
U.S. border officials are bracing for a mass influx of migrants after Title 42 ends, but there are fears that a new immigration regulation will make it even harder to enter the country.
Amid those concerns, there has been a spike in illegal crossing attempts, with asylum seekers flocking in large numbers to the U.S.-Mexico border in recent weeks.
Here is what to know.
What is Title 42?
Title 42 was first enforced under then-president Donald Trump in March 2020 at the beginning of the pandemic.
The policy suspended rights to seek asylum on grounds of preventing the spread of COVID-19.
At the time, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the order was needed to stem the spread of the virus in crowded detention settings.
It allowed border agents to rapidly expel many migrants, who were either sent back to Mexico or returned to their home countries.
“The USBP will use Title 42 to immediately expel any individual encountered attempting to enter the United States in violation of travel restrictions,” according to an official memorandum from U.S. Customs and Border Protection issued at the time.
Under Title 42, there have been 2.8 million expulsions, although the total includes many repeat crossers and Mexico has generally only accepted certain nationalities.
While Title 42 prevented many from seeking asylum, it carried no legal consequences, allowing repeat attempts.
What happens after Title 42 ends?
With Title 42 gone, migrants caught crossing the U.S.-Mexico border will again be able to request asylum — but there will be new rules for who is eligible.
U.S. officials are predicting more crossings after the restrictions end Thursday night.
President Joe Biden said Tuesday that the border will be “chaotic for a while.”
However, new measures to replace Title 42 by the Biden administration could deny asylum for most who cross illegally.
On Wednesday, the Homeland Security Department announced a rule to make it extremely difficult for anyone who travels through another country, like Mexico, to qualify for asylum.
Under the regulation, most migrants will be presumed ineligible for asylum if they passed through other nations without seeking protection elsewhere first or if they failed to use legal pathways for U.S. entry.
The department also introduced curfews with GPS tracking for families released in the U.S. before initial asylum screenings.
U.S. authorities aim to process migrants in days and swiftly deport them if they fail an initial asylum screening.
These rules will take effect immediately after Title 42 ends.
After Thursday, migrants face being barred from entering the U.S. for five years and possible criminal prosecution.
At the same time, the administration has introduced expansive new legal pathways into the U.S.
Up to 30,000 people a month from Haiti, Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela can enter if they apply online with a financial sponsor and enter through an airport. Processing centres are opening in Guatemala, Colombia and elsewhere.
Up to 1,000 can enter daily through land crossings with Mexico if they snag an appointment on an online app.
How are U.S. cities responding?
U.S. border cities are grappling with the recent spike in migrant arrivals and bracing for the possibility of even more when Title 42 ends.
The Texas cities of Brownsville, El Paso and Laredo have issued emergency declarations.
El Paso is opening emergency shelters in two vacant schools as existing shelters have been at capacity this week, according to local news reports.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott this week expanded his ongoing campaign to use National Guard troops to secure the border, announcing a new tactical force that will be “deployed to hotspots” to “intercept and repel” migrants.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat whose city has received thousands of migrants on buses from Texas, on Wednesday suspended some of New York City’s rules that guarantee shelter for anyone in need of housing.
Adams issued an executive order that cited the “unprecedented humanitarian crisis” caused by arriving asylum seekers.
— with files from The Associated Press and Reuters
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