If the Biden administration changes a policy that permits authorities to turn away asylum-seekers, Border Patrol officials in Texas are ready for a surge in migrants crossing the US-Mexico border.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has until Wednesday to decide whether to maintain Title 42, a COVID-19-era provision that has permitted the US to deport hundreds of thousands of immigrants to their home countries before they may seek refuge.
Border Patrol agents are being assigned to hotspots for crossing into the nation, including McAllen and Del Rio, to prepare for a potential human tidal wave of asylum seekers, according to Judd.
According to Judd, 52 percent of immigrants at the border were directly deported in March under Title 42.
If Title 42 is not renewed, Judd believes that agents will be occupied with paperwork rather than patrolling the border to prevent illegal activities.
However, the Department of Homeland Security is sending administrative volunteers to the border to help with the increased paperwork that will be generated as more immigration cases are processed.
The El Paso Times stated that Annunciation House, one of the largest and busiest immigration shelters along the Texas border, is preparing to go into crisis mode within 24 hours if there is a rush at the border.
Under Title 42, an estimated 1.7 million immigrants have been deported. While former President Donald Trump initiated the health-care policy, President Biden’s administration was responsible for 70% of Title 42 deportations.
The ACLU and other critics of Title 42 claim that the policy is about stripping asylum seekers of their legal right to seek asylum.
The ACLU is one of several civil rights organizations suing the US government to get Title 42 repealed.
