The health code Title 42 has long been a controversial tool for immirgation enforcement both under the Trump and Biden administrations. Though it was considered a pandemic measure, it has been largely used for the expedited expulsion of migrants at the US border.
The policy was originally being used to deport 80% of migrants at the border. Under the Biden administration that was reduced to about 55% according to the Washington Post meaning that about half of migrants being processed at the border are being processed through traditional immigration systems. The Biden administration has also added exceptions to the measure allowing those with medical emergencies and unaccompanied minors to enter into the US.
This was verified by our own experiences with Ayudandoles a Triunfar. Head of the Matamoros branch, Glady Cañas, described to us how only individuals who have medical emergencies are getting across the border legally at this time.
In March of this year President Biden announced the termination of the health code which was followed by several measures meant to counteract the expected dramatic increase in border crossings including a six pillar plan by The Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Both sides of the aisle voiced skepticism over whether DHS and its immigration agencies are actually able to effectively process the anticipated tripling of border crossings.
Attorney Generals from 24 states, including Texas, responded by suing the US government. U.S. District Judge Robert R. Summerhays from Louisiana issued a preliminary injunction last week effectively extending Title 42 indefinitely. The injection claims that the federal government did not conform to traditional governmental procedures in its termination of the policy. Despite the momentary pause, the issue is far from settled as the Biden administration has vowed to appeal and terminate the policy.
Defenders of Title 42 claim that it is needed as both a deterrence from increased immigration and as a more effective way to deal with the already record high border crossings. While the policy does speed up the deportation of migration (by ignoring their right to processing) there is little evidence that it has worked as a deterrence.
Our partners at Ayudandoles a Triunfar as well as other news outlets described how illegal border crossings are partially fueled by misinformation from smugglers. Often migrants are unaware of the actual consequences of illegal migration and their ability to stay in the country afterwards. Despite the continued implementation of Title 42 crossings have continued to rise by the thousands. Over the weekend CBP arrested over 500 migrants for illegally crossing in the Rio Grande Valley area alone.
The Biden administration has announced several other avenues through which they intend to manage border crossings and processing. The DHS announced a “dedicated docket” in order to expedite the legal processing of those in immigration proceedings.
As part of the announcement Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas stated, “Families who have recently arrived should not languish in a multi-year backlog; today’s announcement is an important step for both justice and border security.” The specialized docket will be used for all families apprehended after May 28, 2022 who are enrolled in Alternatives to Detention. The docket will be working to issue decisions within 300 days and will be present in the following 10 cities: Denver, Detroit, El Paso, Los Angeles, Miami, Newark, New York City, San Diego, San Francisco, and Seattle.
The Biden administration is also seeking to capitalize on other resources for housing migrants other than detention centers, namely nonprofits and church shelters. The administration announced that nonprofit groups such La Posada Providencia will be a central part of its current plan with a small amount of financing, about $150 million, to support them. These are the same groups who have been informally working with Border Patrol and ICE for years.
While the move away from private detention facilities is a welcome shift considering the significant number of reports of abuse at said facilities (including in our own investigation from 2021), just pushing the buck to the already stretched shelters is by no means a holistic solution. Several groups are already at or near capacity and are struggling to speed up their own processes.
The current administration is in fact making several changes to immigration that we support and advocate for. However, due to the complexity and multifaceted nature of this issue, obviously, none of these solutions are going to be perfect fixes. The work needed for overarching immigration reform is going to be long and complicated. We are glad to see some changes now, but will continue to analyze policy changes in their entirety. The end of Title 42 is clearly something we have advocated for and welcome. Now both the state and federal governments must continue to attempt to figure out how to provide effective yet humane immigration processing.