On Thursday, restrictions from the COVID-19 era to avoid unlawful immigration will expire, allowing up to 150,000 individuals to enter the United States from Mexico.
The legislation, known as Title 42, was introduced by the Trump administration and permitted US border agents to return most undocumented migrants to the southern border. Officials must register detained immigrants in an immigration system that can take months to adjudicate individual cases.
Influx of Migrants Continues as Title 42 Set to Expire
According to CNN, 150,000 people wait for the regulations to alter in northern Mexico. The network reported that 60,000 people were camping out in Chihuahua, from which many will attempt to enter the United States at El Paso.
US President Joe Biden spoke with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador about "the significance of enhancing cooperation" between the two nations to manage "unprecedented migration in the region," according to a White House summary of the conversation.
Many of the migrants in El Paso on Tuesday, who read the leaflet under Red Cross blankets or by the light of a statue of the Virgin of Guadalupe, declined to be interviewed. Others dreaded that turning themselves in would result in expulsion or deportation, compelling them to begin their journeys again.
Biden predicted that the US-Mexico border would be "chaotic for a while" following the end of pandemic-related restrictions, as 550 active-duty troops began arriving and migrants considered whether or not to cross.
Since 2020, the restrictions have permitted US officials to return migrants across the border swiftly. The US is implementing a new set of policies that will restrict illicit border crossings while offering migrants a legal path to the country if they apply online through a government app, have a sponsor, and pass a background check.
Biden stated that his administration was striving to ensure a smooth transition. "But only time will tell," he told reporters, as per AP News.
On Tuesday, Biden and Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador discussed the frontier for roughly an hour. The United States and Mexico share a 1,951-mile border, so Mexico is essential to the success of any U.S. plans to control immigration at the southern border.
Approximately 100 people, predominantly from Colombia, crossed the border before dawn on Tuesday and trekked for nearly two hours through desolate, boulder-strewn mountains east of San Diego to a sandy plateau where Border Patrol agents kept watch.
The Biden administration has stated that it is prepared for whatever may occur following the expiration of Title 42, despite its repeated criticism of Congress for failing to reform the nation's immigration system.
The deployment of personnel is part of efforts to bolster security along the southern border, but they will primarily be used to help monitor and observe the border, as well as for data entry and support; they will not interact with migrants, according to Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary.
The objective is to free up Customs and Border Protection personnel to perform law enforcement duties. At least a portion of the active-duty forces will be deployed near El Paso, Texas, he said, adding that CBP will determine where the forces will be deployed. Around the end of May, more than 900 additional soldiers, Marines, and aircraft will arrive.
New York Declares State of Emergency
Meanwhile, Gov. Kathy Hochul issued an executive order late Tuesday to enhance the state's efforts to assist New York City with an influx of asylum-seekers.
The move by the Democratic governor comes at a time when the New York City suburbs are in an outcry over Mayor Eric Adams' plan to relocate at least 400 migrants from the city to vacant hotels in Rockland and Orange counties, prompting criticism and defiance pledges from local leaders.
Hochul stated that the order would enable the state to send up to 500 additional National Guard members to assist the city, which has received more than 57,000 migrants since spring. According to Politico, it will also enable the state to acquire accommodation and apparatus for newcomers.
Hochul's order may also aim to assuage suburbia's anger in the wake of Adams' announcement on Friday that he would seek to relocate some migrants to other counties to relieve overcrowding and strain on city resources.
The Republican county executives of Orange and Rockland issued emergency orders to prevent hotels from contracting with the city to shelter migrants, setting the stage for a conflict between local governments. Hochul appeared to be attempting to calm the situation on Tuesday, indicating that she would work to locate new locations, possibly state-owned facilities, for asylum-seekers in the city or with municipalities prepared to accept them.
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