90,000 migrants cross US border in 10 days as panic over Title 42 end sets in
Over 73,000 migrants crossed the southern border in the last 10 days according to the US Border Patrol — who admitted a further 17,000 illegal “gotaways” avoided detection and entered the country as things reach a fever pitch ahead of the end of Title 42 on May 11.
22,220 people had been apprehended at all US borders in the last 72 hours, tweeted US Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz on Monday.
He also said another 51,560 migrants were caught at the border in the previous week.
Thousands of people are handing themselves in daily to agents at the southern border in attempts to claim asylum and start a new life in the US.
Most are processed and sent back over the border under Title 42, a pandemic-era policy which allows Border Patrol to immediately send citizens of many countries back to Mexico.
However, this takes time and puts a huge strain in resources along the border.
Customs and Border Protection confirmed in the same time frame at least 16,985 people were recorded as gotaways — who were either spotted by agents or caught by motion sensor cameras but unable to be apprehended.
Officials have said this scene provides a preview of what is to come when Title 42 ends.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott said Monday the federal government is expecting up to 13,000 illegal immigrants to cross the US-Mexico border each day after it expires.
Responding to Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot, who pleaded with him to stop busing migrants to her city, Abbott wrote: “This is not a Texas problem — this is a problem for the entire United States of America.
“To provide much-needed relief to our overrun border communities, Texas began busing migrants to sanctuary cities … Until [President] Biden secures the border to stop the inflow of mass migration, Texas will continue this necessary program.”
What is Title 42 and what does its end mean for US border immigration?
What is Title 42?
Title 42 is a federal health measure enforced by the US Border Patrol. It allows the agency to kick certain migrants out of the US and return them to Mexico. This includes asylum seekers, who under international law have the legal right to make an asylum claim in America.
Currently, migrants who cross the border illegally and who are from Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua or Venezuela are subject to Title 42 and could be sent to Mexico.
How did Title 42 start?
President Donald Trump invoked the law in 2020 at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, asking the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to issue the policy. The Trump administration made the case that keeping migrants out of the country would slow down the spread of infections and maintain the safety of federal agents encountering migrants.
What has happened with Title 42 under Biden?
When President Biden took over, he continued to enforce Title 42 with one important change from his predecessor. Biden said Border Patrol agents were only allowed to expel migrants from certain countries under his direction. That meant migrants seeking asylum from countries like Cuba and Venezuela could still seek asylum if they arrived at the border and stay in the US while their cases were decided in court — unless they had a criminal record.
What is happening with Title 42 now?
Title 42 is supposed to be a health policy, not an immigration law. It will end at 11:59 p.m. May 11, when the Biden administration ends all COVID-19-related policies.
Why is it controversial?
Many have called for the policy’s end, saying it’s illegal and that international law guarantees people the right to seek asylum.
Others, like Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, warn that the southern border could see up to 13,000 migrants per day crossing with the intention to stay in the country when the measure ends.
What would the end of Title 42 mean for immigration into the US?
It’s unclear exactly how many people have been expelled under Title 42 because there have been scores of people who have attempted to enter the country numerous times and been rejected again and again, but the US Border Patrol said it made an all-time high of more than 2.3 million arrests at the border in the last fiscal year. Forty percent of people who were expelled from the country were ejected under the rules of Title 42.
In Brownsville, Texas, and surrounding areas, 6,371 migrants were taken into custody last week, the agency confirmed. The feds turned a college baseball field into an outdoor processing center, as thousands of migrants turned themselves over to authorities.
In El Paso, Texas — the epicenter of the border crisis — officials expect anywhere between 12,000 to 40,000 migrants who have been waiting on the Mexican side to cross into the city when Title 42 ends. The city has started building a third intake center for processing migrants in the city and called in extra resources to help deal with the expected influx.
On Sunday city blocks in El Paso were lined with migrants sleeping on the streets near a downtown church, Sacred Heart, according to video posted on social media.
“May 11, they believe, will be the day that they can — without any documentation — they can come into the United States and to continue to move on,” said El Paso Mayor Oscar Leeser Sunday. “Which is really one of the furthest things from what’s going to happen.”
“We’re not opening the borders, and the borders are not open today, and they will not be open on May 12.”
In the meantime, migrants continue to stream over the international boundary. While many are fleeing failing states and political and economic uncertainty, cartels and criminal influences are among them.
Agents said in the last ten days there were able to stop 19 sex offenders, six gang members and one convicted murder from entering the country.
In that time, the feds also seized over 2,624 pounds of drugs, including:
- 676 lbs. Cocaine
- 823 lbs. Marijuana
- 1,052 lbs. Meth
- 54 lbs. Fentanyl
- 19 lbs. Heroin
The statistics are for both southern and northern US borders, according to Border Patrol.
