The crisis on the country’s southern border is about to get a lot worse, as the Biden administration announced on Monday that it will end former President Donald Trump’s public health policy for migrants.
Title 42, which was implemented by Trump in March 2020, allowed the U.S. Border Patrol to turn migrants away since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak.
“After considering current public health conditions and an increased availability of tools to fight COVID-19 (such as highly effective vaccines and therapeutics), the CDC Director has determined that an Order suspending the right to introduce migrants into the United States is no longer necessary,” the Centers for Disease Control said in a statement.
The order has since been used by both the Trump and Biden administration, with the latter arguing that it was necessary to curb the spread of COVID-19 inside border detention facilities. In February, approximately 55% of migrants were expelled due to Title 42, rather than being released into the U.S.
Democratic Representative Pramila Jayapal celebrated the announcement, claiming it was cruel to begin with and it had denied migrants due process.
“Title 42 was a cruel and discriminatory policy that circumvented U.S. law, preventing people from accessing protections established by Congress,” said Walsh in a statement. “Today is the product of years of advocacy from both inside and outside Congress. I’m thrilled to see the Biden Administration do the right and moral thing by ending this extremely harmful, xenophobic, and shortsighted policy that disproportionately impacted Black and Brown migrants.”
However, Republican and some liberal lawmakers have expressed concern that it could lead to a possible surge in illegal immigrants that could overwhelm Border Patrol agents.
“At every opportunity, Biden has enacted policies that open our southern border, empower drug smugglers and human traffickers, and make American communities less safe. Joe Biden has overseen the worst border crisis in DHS history,” Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said in a statement. “By removing Title 42, Biden’s doubling down on his commitment to actively worsening the crisis he created.”
The order will end on May 23, giving the Department of Homeland Security time to prepare for an expected increase in migrants at the border.
