Title 42 was a major public healthy policy instituted by former President Trump which helped expel certain migrants from the United States and will be ending soon. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas have finally announced some kind of plan to deal with the upcoming wave of illegal immigrants protected to enter the country this spring, summer and fall.
In the plans announced on Thursday, Blinken and Mayorkas have approved processing to take place in other countries south of the border in order to gain entry, expanded different legal pathways for entry, and supposedly stricter penalties for those caught entering the country illegally.
“This is a hemispheric challenge that demands hemispheric solutions,” Mayorkas said in a press conference. He also announced humanitarian aid for family members in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Colombia for those wishing to reunify with family, and increased the amount of refugees allowed to enter the United States from the Western Hemisphere. Currently, a family reunification parole program exists but applies only to Haitians and Cubans.
“Migration is the definition of a challenge that no country can solve alone. The magnitude, the range of drivers, the push and pull factors all demand that we work together,” Blinken added as he explained the new processing centers in Colombia and Guatemala which can now approve migrants before they cross through several countries illegally.
“We are building lawful pathways for people to come to the United States without resorting to the smugglers. At the same time, we are imposing consequences on those who do not use those pathways,” Mayorkas explained.
In order for U.S. border authorities to remove illegal immigrants from the country, they will now rely on “expedited removal” via Title 8. This would also allow authorities to enforce a harsher penalty than under Title 42. Mayorkas claims that migrants caught entering illegally would be removed “in a matter of days” and would not be eligible for reentry for five years.
“We have been preparing for the transition for more than a year and a half. Notwithstanding those preparations, we do expect that encounters at our southern border will increase as smugglers are seeking to take advantage of this change and already are hard at work spreading disinformation that the border will be open after that,” Mayorkas added. “High encounters will place a strain on our entire system, including our dedicated, growing workforce and our communities. The smugglers’ propaganda is false. Let me be clear, our border is not open and will not be open after May 11.”
Mayorkas also admitted that the first few weeks after Title 42 expires will be very challenging. He has gone before Congress asking for more money, requesting the funds help aid the upcoming migrant surge.