Fact Check Team: What's next for Title 42?

WASHINGTON (TND) — Title 42 has been in the headlines a lot lately.

It’s a pandemic-era policy that allows border authorities to turn migrants trying to enter the U.S. back to Mexico or their home countries without the chance to seek asylum because of the COVID-19 public health crisis.

President Joe Biden wants to do away with it but his plans now faces a delay because of a federal judge’s orders.

A federal judge in Louisiana has temporarily blocked the Biden administration’s plans to end Title 42. It was set to expire on May 23 but with the courts involved, that won’t happen and the administration isn’t fighting it.

The National Desk’s Fact Check Team is taking a closer look at the court order and how the Biden administration plans to handle the expected surge in migrant crossings.

If Title 42 does end, the Department of Homeland Security has predicted as many as 18,000 migrants a day at the border.

Republicans don’t want the administration to remove Title 42 and there has also been some criticism from Democrats, especially from those in border states and those who are up for re-election.

There are Democrats that oppose this move. On the House side, Texas’ Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar is concerned about a migrant surge in the Lonestar state.

Arizona Sens. Mark Kelly and Kyrsten Sinema expressed their worries in a letter to the president stating the administration is not prepared “to ensure a secure, orderly and humane process at the border.”

There have been bipartisan efforts to address the issue.

Five Senate Democrats and six Republicans introduced a bill that would extend the law by an extra 60 days and require the Department of Homeland Security to submit a plan to deal with a post-Title 42 migrant surge.

When the president announced he would end Title 42, Democrats and Republicans called on the administration to outline how they will secure the border.

In a memo Tuesday, Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas released the department's plan to secure the southern border if and when Title 42 is lifted.

In order to manage the anticipated surge of migrants, the secretary’s plan includes ramping up personnel, transportation, medical support and facilities.

In his memo, the secretary also expressed cracking down on crime as a priority by calling for strict enforcement of our immigration laws and increasing the use of expedited removal.

Title 42 will remain in place due to the temporary restraining order but those have a time limit unless the court gives them an extension.

On April 25, the federal judge only announced his intent to grant the order, so for right now, it has yet to be issued.

There should be more information clarifying how long this restraining order will last in the next few days.