Title 42, a Trump-era public health order that gives the government power to automatically expel illegal immigrants, is set to expire on May 11, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
With the expiration of Title 42, all illegal immigrants will be processed under the Title 8 immigration law that is more involved and a longer process.
Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), a Democrat, told The Epoch Times that Title 42 has been ineffective in keeping illegal immigrants from crossing into the United States.
“Title 42, you just expel people and there are no repercussions; they can come right back,” Cuellar said. “Under Title 8, there are some teeth, which means if someone is deported, there will be a five-year, 10-year, 15-year, 20-year ban or more, which means they cannot come back into the country.”
President Joe Biden said in January that his administration will return to the Title 8 order once Title 42 is rolled back: “It’s—my prediction is—it’s not—there’s nothing particularly insightful about this: Title 42 is going to go away before the end of the year, in terms of the Supreme Court, in my prediction. And then we’re going to have to use Title 9—Title 8.”
The Biden administration was quick to roll back many of his predecessor’s border security measures. The rules were introduced as an emergency health measure to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The Caravan
The removal of Title 42 comes as thousands of illegal immigrants have been moving in a caravan throughout Mexico to reach the U.S. border and 1,500 hundred troops have been sent to the border by the Biden administration.
“These characters will likely try to enter the United States by force, so the protocol of the border, which is to safeguard and protect the passage, will be put to the test,” Juan Rojas, a member of the Mexican National Guard, told The Epoch Times.
An estimated over 3,000 migrants from at least 50 countries, including China, will be marching to the U.S. border after Title 42 is rolled back, but the actual figure could be larger than that.
By Joe Gomez
