Title 42 ending: DHS chief says White House exploring 'host' of solutions to prevent border crisis

  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

The Biden administration is exploring "a whole host of things" to prevent a humanitarian crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border when Title 42 expulsions expire next week, the Homeland Security chief said.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said the administration is in ongoing discussions with the Mexican government, which has played an outsized role in recent years in every U.S. program to limit or redirect migrants' access to the U.S.-Mexico border. He declined to provide specifics, citing sensitive bilateral talks.

"We're mindful of the fact that Title 42 is going to end early next week," Mayorkas said in El Paso on Tuesday. "We're also mindful of the fact that we have to coordinate with our partners, not just the nonprofit organizations with which we work very closely, not just cities along the border like El Paso, but also our international partners. So we're moving as quickly as we can."

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas visits El Paso, Texas, on Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2022. Over his two-day visit, which began Monday, Dec. 12, 2022, he visited with NGOs and personnel from Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Border Patrol. Mayorkas is shown at the Paso Del Norte international bridge port of entry.Ê
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas visits El Paso, Texas, on Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2022. Over his two-day visit, which began Monday, Dec. 12, 2022, he visited with NGOs and personnel from Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Border Patrol. Mayorkas is shown at the Paso Del Norte international bridge port of entry.Ê

In a visit planned last week, Mayorkas came to El Paso to receive operational briefings by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials at a time when the city is receiving record numbers of asylum-seeking migrants.

What is Title 42?

The Biden administration has leaned heavily on Title 42 to manage the flow of millions of migrants arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border by quickly expelling people to Mexico or countries of origin, including asylum seekers.

Title 42 is a public health order that allows Customs and Border Protection to expel migrants to Mexico or back to their home countries to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in holding facilities. The policy was created under the Trump administration and was issued by the CDC in March 2020, at the start of the pandemic.

A federal judged in November said the pandemic-era rule violated U.S. asylum law and had to be lifted by Dec. 21.

Hundreds of migrants crossed the Rio Grande to the U.S. in hopes of seeking asylum after arriving to Ciudad Juarez on Dec. 11, 2022. The migrants had been kidnapped by organized crime in the state of Durango in the weeks prior and were provided a state police escort into Ciudad Juarez.
Hundreds of migrants crossed the Rio Grande to the U.S. in hopes of seeking asylum after arriving to Ciudad Juarez on Dec. 11, 2022. The migrants had been kidnapped by organized crime in the state of Durango in the weeks prior and were provided a state police escort into Ciudad Juarez.

Mayorkas said the Biden administration is exploring expansion of a program that allowed Ukrainian and later Venezuelan asylum seekers to apply for entry to the U.S. by air via Mexico City. He also said the administration is working with Mexico to ensure that the surge of migrants bused to Juárez over the weekend doesn't happen again.

MORE: What is the Title 42 border policy that's ending? Why Republicans, some Democrats want it to stay

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas visits El Paso, Texas, on Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2022. Over his two-day visit, which began Monday, Dec. 12, 2022, he visited with NGOs and personnel from Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Border Patrol. Mayorkas is shown at the Paso Del Norte international bridge port of entry. 
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas visits El Paso, Texas, on Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2022. Over his two-day visit, which began Monday, Dec. 12, 2022, he visited with NGOs and personnel from Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Border Patrol. Mayorkas is shown at the Paso Del Norte international bridge port of entry.

"What we're experiencing is a challenge of migration throughout the hemisphere," Mayorkas said. "We've been speaking with our partners in a bilateral and multilateral context, because a regional challenge requires partnership and a regional solution."

Asked whether the administration intended to place new limits on asylum seekers, Mayorkas said, "There are a lot of discussions about different ideas and how to address the number of encounters that we're experiencing at the border. No decisions have been made."

El Paso prepares for influx of migrants

Customs and Border Protection reported nearly 2.4 million encounters at the Southwest border in fiscal 2022, through October. Migrants were expelled more than 1 million times under Title 42, a pandemic-era authority invoked during the Trump administration and continued under President Joe Biden.

MORE: With Title 42 ending near, Border Patrol braces for rush at US-Mexico border. Here's what we know.

El Paso, Texas, one of many border communities preparing for the policy's end, has seen Border Patrol release thousands of asylum seekers every week this year, including hundreds directly to the street outside bus stations in the city's downtown area. The city and county have opened migrant assistance centers, but the cost has quickly gone into the millions and the federal government has been slow to repay the money spent.

Mayorkas met with El Paso Mayor Oscar Leeser and El Paso County Judge Ricardo Samaniego during his two-day visit to the city, along with border agents and immigrant advocacy groups.

He said the administration is considering El Paso's request for advance funding to provide humanitarian assistance to those who cross the Southwest border.

U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso, said she is asking the Biden administration "for more resources... and direct engagement" including federally operated short-term emergency shelters.

"The extraordinarily high numbers of migrants arriving daily in El Paso has created an unprecedented strain on our community," she said in a statement. "Our local governments have been strained as they are asked to perform functions outside their normal operations, NGOs are doing the best they can, and our CBP personnel have been stressed beyond anything they have ever experienced to date."

Since October, the county has received nearly 19,000 migrants released by Border Patrol to pursue asylum or other status in the country and provided them with logistical and other assistance.

The city provided assistance to about 19,000 migrants during a three-month period at its now-shuttered Migrant Welcome Center.

Lauren Villagran can be reached at lvillagran@elpasotimes.com and on Twitter @laurenvillagran

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: DHS chief Mayorkas visits El Paso amid Title 42 ending, border crisis