Thursday, May 18, 2023
Just last week, the Biden Administration lifted Title 42, the emergency health rule put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to health concerns, the policy allowed US officials to turn away migrants who came to the U.S.-Mexico border.
Before Title 42 went into effect, migrants were able to get screened after entering the country and were allowed to wait in the US for their immigration hearing. Title 42 had restrictions against this, resulting in two million migrants being sent back.
After three years, the policy has expired. In response, three Texas cities declared a state of emergency.
"We're getting prepared now for what we call the unknown. And the unknown is what will happen after May 11," said Oscar Leeser, Mayor of El Paso, ahead of the lifting of Title 42. "As you've seen we're starting to pick up some momentum as asylum seekers are around the streets of downtown El Paso and other areas of our community."
Brownsville issued a disaster declaration following the 15,000 migrants that illegally crossed the border in just one week.
In the days leading up to the expiration, reports found 10,000 encounters happening at the border daily. Since then, reports have shown a significant drop to about 4,000 per day. Senator Ted Cruz, however, urges that we remain vigilant.
"I was down on the border just a few days ago," said Cruz. "Thursday night I was down in Brownsville. It is absolute chaos. When I was there, there were more than 22,000 people camped in Matamoros, just on the other side of the Rio Grande river, waiting to cross over. There are over 170,000 people camped the whole length of the border, waiting to cross."
What do you make of the issue at the border? Is the aftermath of Title 42 an immediate issue? Let us know by taking our brief survey here!