The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced Friday that Title 42 will be terminated May 23, 2022.
Title 42, implemented during former President Donald Trump’s time in office, allows for the quick expulsion of migrants due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The CDC said in its announcement that the directive is “no longer necessary to protect U.S. citizens,” citing “the public health landscape” and “the current status of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
“This Termination will be implemented on May 23, 2022, to enable the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to implement appropriate COVID-19 mitigation protocols, such as scaling up a program to provide COVID-19 vaccinations to migrants, and prepare for full resumption of regular migration processing under Title 8 authorities,” the CDC said in a release detailing the new order.
Title 42 will end on May 23, per the CDC.
The CDC says it’s determined that “a suspension of the right to introduce such covered noncitizens is no longer necessary to protect US citizens.”
— Shelby Talcott (@ShelbyTalcott) April 1, 2022
Title 42 allowed the U.S. to expel over 1.7 million migrants – many at the southern border – since its implementation in March 2020, according to CNBC. It was extended in August under the Biden administration, this time with an exception for unaccompanied minors, as COVID-19 continued to rage around the world.
Border patrol agents are reportedly concerned of a surge in migrants trying to enter the U.S. once Title 42 expires, according to a report published by Fox News. One border patrol agent reportedly said they “are expecting to get wrecked.”
“In my opinion … I think that those numbers will increase, especially from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras because … they’ll be given, from what I’m hearing, a notice to appear if things don’t change between now and then or Title 42 goes away … I think that’s the hope, that everybody’s keeping their fingers crossed that there’s an extension, but there’s not a very good likelihood of that happening,” Val Verde County Sheriff Joe Frank Martinez recently told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Biden has struggled throughout his presidency with a crisis at the border, and the number of migrants crossing at the Southern border recently jumped once again, The Washington Post reported. (RELATED: Biden Says He Guesses He Should Visit Southern Border, But Notes He’s Been Busy)
Adding to concerns is the number of migrants being held by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) – at over 15,000 migrants, CBP is over its capacity limits, The Post added.
The White House is not in the dark about the concerns. White House Communications Director Kate Bedingfield told reporters on March 30 that they are anticipating a surge of migrants once Title 42 ends. Bedingfield assured the room that the administration is prepping “for multiple contingencies.”