(The Hill) — The Biden administration on Wednesday announced additional measures it will implement to respond to the expected fallout when Title 42 lifts on Thursday with the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency.
Administration officials have been preparing for months for the end of Title 42, a Trump-era policy allowing immigration officials to more quickly expel asylum-seeking migrants attempting to cross the border.
With the rule expiring Thursday and a surge of migrants at the southern border expected to follow, administration officials detailed a series of steps that fall under three broad categories: Enforcement, deterrence and diplomacy.
The administration will surge resources to the border to improve processing efficiency, a senior administration official said. The new steps being taken include sending 24,000 law enforcement personnel and 1,100 new border patrol processing coordinators to the U.S.-Mexico border.
President Joe Biden last week announced he would send 1,500 military personnel to the southern border to assist in an administrative capacity.
In another effort to improve efficiency, the administration is opening up regional processing centers in locations through Central America where migrants can determine in their home country whether they are eligible for a legal pathway of entry into the United States.
The administration intends to launch an online platform in the coming days where individuals can make an appointment at one of those processing centers, a senior administration official said.
For enforcement purposes, the administration will rely on Title 8, which allows for the expedited deportation of migrants who are encountered between legal ports of entry.
The administration will also place “significant conditions on asylum eligibility” for those who do not use lawful established pathways, a senior administration official said.
Administration officials also stressed that efforts to address a potential spike in individuals seeking entry to the U.S. will be a collaborative effort with international partners.
Biden spoke Tuesday with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador about various topics, including migration. Officials also pointed to the establishment of the Los Angeles Declaration, a document signed last summer by the U.S. and more than 20 other partners to “work together to address the migration crisis in a comprehensive manner.”
Biden was asked Tuesday by reporters about the impending end of Title 42 and said “it remains to be seen” how things will play out.
“We are doing all we can,” Biden said. “It’s going to be chaotic for a while.”
