US Warns Against Crossing Mexico Border illegally as Title 42 Expired

(CTN News) – On Monday, U.S. authorities warned of “tougher consequences” for illegal border crossers as Vice President Joe Biden prepares to end COVID-19 limits, also known as Title 42, which have helped officers swiftly deport many migrants back to Mexico.

U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesman Blas Nunez-Neto said on a call with reporters that the number of unlawful border crossers had reduced dramatically since Title 42 ceased on Friday.

Biden Transitioning Away from Title 42, Border Apprehensions Drop

Due to increased border security in nations to the south and Vice President Biden’s implementation of stricter criteria for asylum petitions at the border, the number of apprehensions has decreased.

The consequences for illegal border crossings have increased, according to Nunez-Neto, who said, “now migrants face tougher consequences at the border, including a minimum five-year bar on re-entry, and the potential to be criminally prosecuted if they try again.”

Reuters reported last week that some migrants planned to cross the border into the country before the new asylum regulations went into force the following week.

U.S. authorities reportedly warned some asylum applicants they couldn’t enter the country after Title 42 expired at midnight on Thursday unless they scheduled an appointment in advance via the new CBP One app.

Since taking office in 2021, Biden, a Democrat for re-election in 2024, has dealt with unprecedented border crossings. His party’s conservative frontrunner, Donald Trump, is upset that he reversed some of Trump’s more restrictive policies as president.

Concerns have been raised internally among Democrats and asylum officers about the speed with which Biden’s new asylum criterion has been implemented.

These individuals argue that the new threshold undermines the right to claim refuge guaranteed by U.S. law, international treaties, and Biden’s campaign promises.

Supporters of legal immigration are trying to stop the new policy, arguing that it is similar to other Trump measures that have been halted in court.

U.S. border agents have warned of a possible increase in unlawful crossings since March 2020, when Title 42 limitations were implemented in response to the COVID outbreak.

U.S. authorities could deport migrants to Mexico and other countries under Title 42 without allowing them to apply for asylum in the United States.

CBP One appointment and applications for humanitarian parole and refugee status are now available overseas thanks to the efforts of the Biden administration, allowing more people to enter the United States legally.

From daily highs of over 10,000 last week, Nunez-Neto reported a decrease to an average of 5,000 migrants arrested crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally since Title 42 expired, while he cautioned that the situation “is very fluid.”

He said this is an ongoing topic that we are keeping an eye on as it develops.

Nunez-Neto reaffirmed that the United States was taking measures to ensure that all individuals were processed in a secure, organized, and humane, with swift repercussions for those who could not prove their eligibility to remain in the country legally.

Nunez-Neto claimed that Mexico and Guatemala had deployed additional military forces to their southern borders and that Panama and Colombia had cracked down on smuggling networks.

Ruben Tellez, Guatemala’s Defence Ministry spokesman, explained that the rollout was “not a direct response to the ending of Title 42 but a permanent deployment” planned for last year in response to El Salvador’s anti-gang crackdown.

Tellez has stated that up to 1,500 security troops will be stationed at the border at all times to control migration.

Thousands of migrants, Nunez-Neto said, have been sent back to their home countries since last Friday.

Number of Migrants Apprehended at U.S.-Mexico Border Decreases

Mexico has agreed to continue receiving deportees from Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, and 2,400 people have already been restored to the country. DHS did not provide the number of non-Mexicans deported to Mexico.

Over 28,000 people were in detention at U.S. border facilities last week, putting pressure on the system.

On Monday, Brandon Judd, head of the National Border Patrol Council, an agents’ union, said that the number had reduced to roughly 21,000. Nonetheless, this is still an extremely high number.

U.S. border officials have started releasing some migrants without notice to appear in immigration court and instructing them to report to an immigration office later to speed up processing as the number of migrants entering the country has increased over the past week.

A federal judge in Florida temporarily halted the practice on Thursday after blocking similar efforts by the Biden administration earlier.

T. Kent Wetherell, the judge in the case, threatened to hold Biden officials in contempt on Monday after reports came out that migrants were still being released despite his order to stop.

Biden officials responded that all migrants who had been processed before his order went into effect were released the next day and that just a few of the cases were still being reviewed.