Title 42 expiration – latest: Child migrant dies in US custody as Biden under fire over immigration policy

More than 2.8m people have been turned away from Mexico border since Title 42 was enacted during the pandemic

Title 42 immigration policy ends Thursday

An unaccompanied child migrant died while in US custody just days before Title 42, the pandemic-era policy that prevented individuals seeking asylum from entering the US on the pretext that they could pose a health risk, expired on Thursday evening.

In anticipation of the policy change, once more restoring the right to an asylum hearing, President Joe Biden enacted new immigration policies which are being harshly criticised for being too restrictive.

Under Mr Biden’s new policies, people from countries other than Mexico will have to request asylum in the country they are coming through before requesting it in the US.

Several organisations, including the American Civil Liberties Union, have filed a lawsuit against the new immigration policies saying they mimic Trump-era ones.

Over the last three years, authorities have effectively used Title 42 as a makeshift solution to the country’s ongoing border crisis, with over 2.8m people turned away since its introduction.

With the policy’s termination, many are worried border towns will become overwhelmed with migrants. Ahead of the expiration, Texas towns El Paso and Brownsville declared an emergency.

Key Points

• What is Title 42?
• Who is allowed in the United States after Title 42 expires?
• Homeland Security Secretary warns against illegal crossings
• Biden administration’s attempt to reduce overcrowding blocked by judge
• Unaccompanied migrant child dies while in custody of US

[12 May 2023 01:32 · Graeme Massie]

What comes next after Title 42?

The end of a Trump-era public health order brings new barriers for people seeking asylum in the US.

[12 May 2023 02:00 · Ariana Baio]

What is Title 42 and why is it expiring tonight?

Border cities in Texas are bracing for an influx of migrants and asylum seekers as the Trump-era Covid policy Title 42 comes to an end this week.

The rule, which was rolled out in March 2020 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), allowed officials to prevent people from entering the country and spreading Covid-19. More than 2.8 million people were turned away from the country’s southern border over the past three years.

Ariana Baio reports:

[12 May 2023 03:00 · Ariana Baio]

Homeland Security Secretary says immigration laws are outdated

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas blamed Congress for the lack of organisation at the southern border in a press conference on Tuesday.

“Our current situation is the outcome of Congress leaving a broken, outdated immigration system in place for over two decades, despite unanimous agreement that we desperately need legislative reform,” Mr Mayorkas said.

“It is also the result of Congress’s decision not to provide us with the resources we need and that we requested. Our efforts within the constraints of our broken immigration system are focused on ensuring that the process is safe, orderly and humane, all while protecting our dedicated workforce and our communities,” he added.

Many Congressional Republicans have pointed the finger at President Joe Biden for the chaos.

[12 May 2023 04:00 · Ariana Baio]

Homeland Security Secretary warns against illegal crossings

As Title 42’s expiration date looms, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas warned migrants about crossing the US southern border illegally by making it clear that the US’s borders, “are not open.”

Mr Mayorkas made it very clear that the lifting of Title 42 would not make it easier for those seeking asylum to enter the US - something he claims “smugglers” have lied about.

“If anyone arrives at our southern border after midnight tonight, they will be presumed ineligible for asylum and subject to steeper consequences for unlawful entry, including a minimum five-year ban on reentry and potential criminal prosecution,” Mr Mayorkas said during the White House press briefing on Thursday.

[12 May 2023 05:00 · Ariana Baio]

US secretary of homeland security joins White House briefing as Title 42 border rules lifted

Secretary of homeland security, Alejandro Mayorkas, joined Karine Jean-Pierre’s daily White House press briefing on the day that Title 42 border restrictions are lifted.

Benjamin Salmon reports:

[12 May 2023 06:00 · Ariana Baio]

Photos show migrants crossing Rio Grande

(Getty Images)

(Getty Images)

(AFP via Getty Images)

[12 May 2023 07:00 · Ariana Baio]

Locals in border towns call the situation ‘a real crisis'

Border towns are already overwhelmed by the number of migrants and asylum seekers hoping to cross over into the US legally and with Title 42 coming to an end tonight, many are worried for what’s to come.

“It’s a real crisis,” said Father Rafael Garcia, a priest at Sacred Heart Church in El Paso, Texas told The New York Times.

Over 600 migrants are seeking temporary shelter in El Paso as they await the end of Title 42 to then enter the US legally, according to the El Paso Times.

But without places to stay, people have made makeshift shelters on the street.

“If this is now, what is it going to look like after May 11? How is this going to unfold?” Father Garcia said.

[12 May 2023 08:00 · Ariana Baio]

WATCH: El Paso mayor give press conference on Title 42 ending

[12 May 2023 09:00 · Ariana Baio]

What is Title 8?

Before there was Title 42, there was Title 8 which allowed authorities to remove migrants who crossed into the US illegally.

Under Title 8, migrants caught crossing illegally will be deported and given a five year ban on re-entering as well as potential criminal charges.

The harsh consequences will restart at midnight on 12 May.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told migrants seeking to come to the US southern border illegally not to, indicating there would steeper consequences.

[12 May 2023 10:00 · Ariana Baio]

Eric Adams weakens shelter mandate as New York City anticipates more migrant arrivals after Title 42 expires

New York City Mayor Eric Adams is weakening a decades-old right-to-shelter mandate to prepare for thousands of newly arrived people in the US after the expiration of a Trump-era policy that blocked hundreds of thousands of migrants from entering the country.

The mayor’s executive order suspends a rule that guarantees shelter for families with children if requested by 10pm, and it suspends a rule that prohibits families from living in group settings. The city and state anticipate hundreds of daily arrivals with the end of Title 42, which expires at midnight on 11 May.

“No one thought about a humanitarian crisis when they took this court case to a right to shelter,” the mayor said in remarks on Thursday, referencing the 1981 consent decree that guides the statewide mandate. “We could potentially get thousands of people a day in our city. It’s wrong for those who are coming here … and it’s wrong for New Yorkers who are here.”

Alex Woodward reports: