A record number of migrants were recently apprehended in a single day at the US-Mexico border, fueling concerns about what will occur in a few hours when a controversial immigration policy expires.
Title 42, introduced in 2020, makes it easier for the US to deport migrants to Mexico citing the coronavirus pandemic.
But its looming expiration at 23:59 ET on Thursday (03:59 GMT on Friday) has triggered a rush to reach the border, and cities on both sides are readying for a raise in attempted crossings once it lapses.
This Thursday, President Joe Biden said the frontier will be “chaotic for a while” despite authorities’ efforts.
El Paso, Texas, where arrivals have increased in anticipation of the rule change, is already seeing the impact.
Many disoriented migrants are sleeping in improvised camps on city streets. Earlier this week, thousands camped out around a church in the city center.
“We’ve never seen anything like this before,” said Mayor Oscar Leeser at a Wednesday border security exhibit just blocks away from the campsite. “Something has to change. We cannot continue to do this indefinitely as a group.”
He warned that just across the border from El Paso, an estimated 10,000 migrants were waiting to enter the country.
Texas Department of Public Safety regional director Joe Sanchez likened the scenario to a football game stampede.
“Imagine there are 60,000 individuals in a single location, and all of a sudden an alert goes off stating that a bomb has been detected in the building. What transpires next? Chaos… It’s very challenging to control and very hard to manage,” he told.
That is the precise situation at the border.
The future is uncertain for these migrants and those already in the United States.
Wednesday saw a five-year ban on illegal border crossers seeking asylum from the Biden administration.
Officials in the United States have also announced new measures to encourage migrants to seek legal entry into the country, as well as harsh penalties and expedited deportation for those who do not.
In addition, approximately 24,000 law enforcement officers and thousands of National Guard forces and active-duty military personnel have been deployed to assist Customs and Border Protection (CBP) along the 2,000-mile border.
The new measures are implemented at a difficult time for the CBP. Due to increased border crossings, El Paso sector officers have detained hundreds of people daily for the past six months.
The city’s authorities have been left to deal with both unprocessed illegal border crossers and those who have been released pending a court date with an immigration judge. Some migrants in El Paso told they would have to wait years before they appear in court.
Officials have begun diverting migrants to processing facilities days before Title 42 expires.
Those with valid asylum claims were granted dates to appear before an immigration judge, while others were detained for removal. One woman stated that her judgment date would occur in Miami, Florida, in 2025.
Some migrants fled in fear of deportation, while others reluctantly submitted themselves to CBP authorities in hopes of staying.
“It was insane. “They came to inform us while it was still dark in the early morning,” said Luis Angel, a 29-year-old Cuban paroled into El Paso pending his court date. “Some of my friends are still detained.”
Wednesday, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas stated that a significant portion of the problem was caused by smugglers who had “been hard at work spreading false information that the border will be open” after 11 May.
It will not occur. They’re lying,” he continued. “We implore migrants once more not to believe smugglers who lie to them exclusively for financial gain. We are creating legal avenues for your entry into the United States.”
The expansion of access to CBP One, an app that migrants can use to schedule asylum appointments, and the opening of regional processing centers to assist migrants applying to enter the United States are among the measures being taken.
CBP also plans to boost efforts to counter misinformation to combat rumors about border policies.
Nevertheless, many migrants in El Paso reported that the rules were unclear and that they had received contradictory information about what might occur before or after the policy expires.
“The rules influenced me unquestionably. Daniel, a Venezuelan, stated, “I heard that with Title 42. They would send me back to Mexico to try again until I am granted entry.”
“But now they’ll return everyone to their home country,” he said. “If I return to Venezuela, they may torture or imprison me. Who knows?” That is the case there.”
