Thousands of migrants at US-Mexico border as Title 42 is ending in hours

 

Authorities in the US are preparing for an influx of migrants at the US-Mexico border as the controversial Trump-era immigration policy - Title 42 - will be ending at midnight (local time).

The policy allowed officials to swiftly deport migrants attempting to cross the border from Mexico, using 'slowing the spread of coronavirus' as the justification. It was initially created by the Trump administration, but has been extended a number of times.

When President Joe Biden came into office in 2021, he continued defending the public health policy for over a year and used it to remove roughly two million migrants from 2021 to 2022.

But in April last year, the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said there was a reduced risk from the virus. But the policy couldn't end that soon as Republican-led states sought to maintain it.

But the gradual winding down of Covid-19 measures meant the immigration policy no longer had any public health justification, consequently causing authorities to announce it would cease to exist on May 11, the same day as the official US public health emergency ends.

With Title 42 scheduled to end in just a few hours, tens of thousands of undocumented migrants have already gathered at the border. When the policy finally ends, border agents will no longer be allowed to unilaterally deport undocumented migrants crossing into the US.

The people will be screened and only removed if they don't qualify for asylum.

The Biden administration, meanwhile, is trying to oblige the migrants to apply for entry into the US using CBP One before they reach the border. But several migrants have raised complaints over the application not working the way it should and not allowing them to apply for asylum in the US from Mexico as promised.