(CNN) – The implementation of what is known as Title 42, a public health border restriction that has been in effect since the Covid-19 pandemic, ended this Thursday. Its demise significantly changes long-standing United States immigration policy as the threat of chaos increases as thousands of migrants gather at the border with Mexico.
For a number of years, Title 42 allowed authorities to quickly turn away immigrants at US borders, ostensibly to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. But that all changed this Thursday at 11:59 p.m. when the health emergency and Title 42 expired.
This could affect border crossings after the implementation of this directive ends.
Title 8 was reinstated
Title 42 allowed border officials to quickly turn away migrants found at the US-Mexico border, often denying them the ability to apply for asylum and drastically reducing processing time at the border. However, Title 42 did not provide for broad legal consequences for migrants who cross the border, meaning they could attempt to re-cross the border multiple times without facing consequences.
Now that the application of Title 42 has ended, the US government is once again enforcing a decades-old rule known as Title 8, which Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has warned will have “more serious consequences” for immigrants, entering the country without legal permission.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has repeatedly emphasized in recent months that immigrants detained under Title 8 authority may face an expedited deportation process, known as “expedited deportation,” and a minimum five-year re-entry ban must. Those who make later attempts to enter the United States could be prosecuted, according to DHS.
However, the processing time under Title 8 can be long, posing a significant challenge for authorities already dealing with large numbers of arrests at the border. In comparison, the Title 42 processing time was around 30 minutes because migrants could be deported quickly, while the Title 8 process can take more than an hour.
Additionally, Title 8 allows migrants to apply for asylum, which can result in a lengthy and time-consuming process that begins with a credible assessment of fear by asylum officials before cases move through the immigration court.
Title 8 has continued to be used alongside Title 42 since the latter was introduced during the pandemic. More than 1.15 million people were arrested under Title 8 at the Southern Border in fiscal year 2022, according to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). During the same period, more than 1.08 million people were deported under Title 42 at the southern land border.
There is a new border policy
Following the end of Title 42, the Biden administration is also introducing tough new policies that take effect this week.
These include a new asylum rule that largely bans immigrants who have transited through another country from seeking asylum in the United States. The rule, proposed earlier this year, means migrants will not be eligible for asylum in the US unless they first seek refuge in a country they transited through, such as Mexico, en route to the border. According to authorities, immigrants who secure an appointment through the CBP One app are exempt.
If it turns out that migrants are not entitled to asylum, they could be deported under the accelerated deportation procedure.
The government also plans to return Cubans, Venezuelans, Haitians and Nicaraguans to Mexico if they cross the border illegally. This is the first time the United States has sent non-Mexican citizens back across the border.
Senior administration officials have stressed that the measures are necessary to encourage people to use legal routes to enter the United States. These include parole programs for eligible nationalities applying to enter the United States and expanding access to an application for immigrants to schedule an appointment for their appearance at a port of entry.
The State Department also plans to open about 100 regional processing centers in the Western Hemisphere where migrants can apply to enter the United States, but the timeline is unclear.
“However, we have linked this to a number of serious consequences for non-citizens who, despite being able to cross the border, continue to cross illegally,” a senior administration official told reporters on Tuesday.
This article was published and updated on May 11th.