The Centers for Disease Control announced Friday that it is ending a policy that limited asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
What You Need To Know
- The Centers for Disease Control says it’s ending a policy that limited asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border to prevent the spread of COVID-19
- The use of public health powers has been widely criticized by Democrats and immigration advocates as an excuse for the United States to shirk its obligations to provide haven to people fleeing persecution
- The policy will end on paper April 1, but it will not take effect until May 23, to allow border officials time to prepare
- The decision is expected to draw more migrants to the U.S.-Mexico border
The use of public health powers had been widely criticized by Democrats and immigration advocates as an excuse for the United States to shirk its obligations to provide haven to people fleeing persecution. The policy went into effect under President Donald Trump in March 2020. Since then, migrants trying to enter the U.S. have been turned away more than 1.7 million times.
The policy, known as the Title 42 authority, named for a 1944 public health law to prevent communicable disease, will end on paper April 1, but it will not take effect until May 23, to allow border officials time to prepare.
“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 CDC said in a statement.
The decision is expected to draw more migrants to the U.S.-Mexico border.
The Department of Homeland Security said this week that about 7,100 migrants were coming daily, compared with an average of about 5,900 a day in February — on pace to match or exceed highs from last year, 2019 and other peak periods. But border officials said they are planning for as many as 18,000 arrivals daily.
Senior administration officials told reporters Friday that the Biden administration has appointed a senior coordinating official and a border coordination center at DHS.
And DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement: “We are increasing our capacity to process new arrivals, evaluate asylum requests, and quickly remove those who do not qualify for protection. We will increase personnel and resources as needed and have already redeployed more than 600 law enforcement officers to the border.”
Mayorkas also said: “Let me be clear: those unable to establish a legal basis to remain in the United States will be removed.”
Officials on Friday acknowledged they have seen an increase in the number of people arriving from countries beyond Central America and beyond the western hemisphere, populations that are “particularly challenging for us to process,” one official said.
The U.S. could also ramp up its use of Migrant Protection Protocols, also known as the “Remain in Mexico” policy, as Title 42 lifts, officials said, meaning more migrants may wait across the border while their asylum claims are processed.
Immigration advocates on Friday cheered the decision to end the policy, but they also urged the administration to take action before May 23.
“Title 42 has never been about protecting public health, but is instead an illegal and xenophobic attack on migrant rights that the Biden administration is right to end,” said Jennifer Babaie, U.S.-Mexico Border Program Director at the International Refugee Assistance Project. “Service providers, local communities, and the American public are ready and willing to welcome and support asylum seekers.”
Asked about the delay in implementation on Friday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said ending the policy would require enacting the “appropriate COVID-19 mitigation protocols” and time is needed for “scaling up capacity.”
Republicans have been quick to criticize President Biden for the end of the policy, warning about the scale of migration the U.S. could soon see at the southwest border.
“Ending Title 42 without any real border security plan in place would spark a humanitarian and security crisis like we’ve never seen,” said Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., earlier this week. “But the far left doesn’t care. Open borders are their objective.”
Moderate Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia also decried the end of the policy.
But other Democrats and advocates maintain that claiming asylum is a right.
“Ending Title 42 is not ‘open borders’ – it is a regular order where people have the right to ask for asylum,” said Tyler Moran, a former senior adviser to President Biden on migration. “Those who request asylum will be processed into the country so they can pursue their case; those who don’t request asylum or who lose their case will be removed.”
