Officials report 60,000 individuals to see an urge into the US from Mexico after the expiration of a Title 42 policy.
As the number of people caught crossing the border illegally tops 10,000 per day, some migrants are being released without notice to appear in immigration court to make an asylum claim.
As Title 42 is Repealed, Title 8 is Reinstated
Title 42, which allowed border authorities to quickly reject migrants at the US-Mexico border, has drastically reduced border processing time and often prevented migrants from claiming asylum.
However, this policy also had limited legal ramifications for those attempting to cross the border, allowing them to make multiple attempts if they were turned away.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has cautioned that the US government will revert to a decades-old section of US code called Title 8 now that Title 42 has been lifted.
Migrants entering the country without a legal basis will face more severe consequences under Title 8, according to Mayorkas.
The DHS has emphasized that migrants caught under Title 8 authority may face “expedited removal” and a five-year ban on reentry, as well as possible criminal prosecution for subsequent attempts to enter the US.
However, the longer processing time under Title 8 presents a significant challenge for authorities dealing with a surge in border arrests, in contrast to the swift expulsions allowed by Title 42.
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New Border Policy
The lifting of Title 42 has prompted the US administration to introduce new stringent policies, effective this week.
One of these measures is a new asylum rule that will mostly prevent migrants who traveled through another country from seeking asylum in the US.
This rule presumes migrants to be ineligible for asylum in the US if they didn’t first seek refuge in a country they transited through on their way to the border.
However, those who secure an appointment through the CBP One app will be exempt. Migrants who are deemed ineligible for asylum may be removed through expedited removal, barring them from the US for five years.
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