The Biden administration plans to announce preparations across the U.S.-Mexico border next week in anticipation of an influx of migrants after the White House lifts pandemic-related restrictions on May 11, says Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. He said immigration detention facilities would have additional beds available to hold migrants facing possible deportation, the Washington Post reports. “I think next week we’ll have more to say about our preparation and some of the things we are going to be doing,” Mayorkas said. The large number of migrants crossing the U.S. southern border remains a political liability for President Biden ahead of his bid for reelection in 2024, presenting his administration with immediate logistical challenges. Troy Miller, acting commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, told lawmakers Wednesday that he is bracing for illegal crossings to double to more than 10,000 per day after May 11, the date the Biden administration picked to end the emergency health restrictions known as Title 42. Miller cited U.N. estimates that more than 660,000 migrants are in Mexico. That includes at least 200,000 Haitians and Venezuelans — groups that have been coming to the U.S. in record numbers since Biden took office.
Since March 2020, DHS has leaned on the Title 42 policy as its primary enforcement tool, expelling more than 2 million migrants back to Mexico or their home countries. DHS officials blame the Title 42 policy for encouraging repeat illegal crossing attempts because migrants don’t face the threat of federal prosecution and jail time that they would under standard immigration rules. Lifting Title 42, Biden officials say, is key to restoring the legal consequences they need to deter illegal entries. Previous attempts by the administration to lift Title 42 have been blocked in federal court by Republican state officials who argued that their budgets would be strained by a major influx of newcomers needing medical care, schooling, and other public services. Biden officials say they now have a clear path to end Title 42 because the president has lifted the coronavirus public health emergency that formed the underlying basis for the border restrictions. Barring a last-minute court ruling, the policy will expire on May 11. Miller said officials will attempt to tamp down the surge with “enhanced expedited removal”, a fast-track deportation process for those who don’t qualify for humanitarian refuge. He cautioned that “it will take time” for deportations to have a deterrent effect.
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