Lifting of Title 42

May 9, 2023

The United States will soon lift COVID-19 restrictions known as Title 42 that have prevented migrants caught at the U.S.-Mexico border from seeking asylum since March 2020. The order was implemented under former President Donald Trump to reduce the spread of the coronavirus in detention settings. Critics of Title 42, which allowed border agents to rapidly expel many migrants to Mexico, argue that it was part of Trump’s goal to curb legal and illegal immigration.

President Joe Biden vowed to reverse Trump’s restrictive approach on immigration and has kept Title 42 in place while expanding it to deal with record migrant arrests at the U.S.-Mexico border. The Biden administration plans to lift the restriction on May 11 when the U.S. COVID public health emergency ends.

New regulations for migrants

Migrants caught crossing the border will be able to request asylum again. To deter would-be migrants, the Biden administration plans to issue a new regulation that would deny asylum to most migrants caught crossing if they passed through another country en route to the U.S. without seeking protection or failed to use other legal pathways. President Biden has expanded legal pathways to encourage migrants to use them.

Nearly 500 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) personnel will help with the interviews and the Pentagon will send 1,500 troops to support the Border Patrol on a temporary basis. The new regulation is expected to face legal challenges, and the administration may struggle to hold migrants at the border and quickly deport them without additional funds from Congress.

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