Immigration is a topic that impacts all Americans, even in states like New Jersey that don’t share a land border with another nation. As long as immigration remains a hot-button issue, it will be important to understand the landscape of immigration in the United States.
Since 2020, Title 42 has been in effect, and its impact at the southern border has been massive. Now, Title 42 is set to expire, which will usher in major changes in immigration in the coming months.
What is Title 42?
Title 42 was an emergency power invoked by the Trump Administration in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Under Title 42, authorities had the power to quickly expel migrants trying to enter the United States from Mexico, citing the risk of spreading Covid-19 as the justification.
Crucially, Title 42 allowed the United States to reject humanitarian asylum requests, essentially allowing authorities to turn away nearly any migrant or border crosser with few exceptions.
What will happen when Title 42 ends?
When Title 42 expires, the border authorities will have less latitude in turning away asylum seekers and migrants crossing the southern border. Now, any border crosser making an asylum plea must be interviewed and ruled upon before being turned away from the United States.
In effect, this is likely to cause a significant uptick in border crossings in the coming months. By some estimates, as many as double the number of border crossings may take place.
The United States is ramping up security at the state and federal levels in response to the anticipated surge in migrant crossings. These measures are intended to help process and manage what promises to be an increasingly chaotic situation at the southern border.
Title 42 was an emergency measure allowing greater ability for border officials to turn away border crossers. With its expiration, it’s likely that greater numbers of migrants will attempt to cross the southern border.
