Title 42 policy on migration has expired

On Thursday, the Title 42 pandemic-era policy on migration expired. Arizona Horizon spoke about it with Professor Evelyn Cruz of ASU’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law.

For three years, and during the COVID-19 public health emergency, the policy allowed border agents to turn back migrants who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border without considering their asylum claims.

The Biden administration says it will create additional legal migration pathways and open processing centers abroad as part of efforts to prepare for an expected spike in migration.

Many are concerned that an already-severe humanitarian crisis will worsen as the numbers of border crossings climb. The Department of Homeland Security estimates U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents could see upwards of 10,000 border crossings a day once the policy expires.

Leaders of U.S. border towns have been asking for help to meet the migrants’ needs, as makeshift encampments grow and social services are pushed to the limits. Yuma Mayor Douglas Nicholls has asked President Biden to declare a national state of emergency due to the immigration crisis at the southern border. “A state of emergency for our nation is dire and opens numerous immediate actions that will address the very real need for personnel and resources in Yuma,” Nicholls wrote in a letter to the President.