The United States is bracing for the expiration of a pandemic-era border restriction, Title 42, this week, with officials rightfully fearing a catastrophic migrant surge. It’s happening.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in April, that there would be a surge in migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border when Title 42 ends on May 11.
Migrant encounters topped 1.2 million at the southern border between October and March, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
“We do anticipate a surge in the number of encounters at our southern border,” Mayorkas told Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Gary Peters.
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“The overarching approach of this administration is not only to invest of the countries of origin, but, given the reason why people flee their homes, whether it’s a more authoritarian regime, persecution by reason of an individual’s membership in a particular social group, increasing violence, poverty, corruption, what we are doing is building lawful pathways so individuals do not need to place their lives and their life savings in the hands of ruthless smugglers who only seek to exploit them for profit, at the same time, delivering a consequence for those individuals who do not avail themselves with the lawful pathway we provide,” Mayorkas said.
President Joe Biden set the expiration of the COVID-19 emergencies, including Title 42, for May 11.
The agents working the frontlines of the southern border had said they had minimal instructions about handling an expected surge of illegal immigrants come Title 42’s end and were just being told to ‘mentally ready’ themselves for the worst.
With Title 42 in place, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has had record migrant encounters, with more than 2.3 million in fiscal year 2022 and more than one million between October and February.
On Sunday, FOX News captured the surge at the border on drone footage.
“Remarkable video from our Fox drone team shows an enormous line of hundreds of migrants who just crossed illegally into Brownsville, TX this evening. A large majority of them are single adults. The RGV continues to see a massive surge of illegal crossings ahead of T42 drop,” said FOX News Bill Melugin.
Last week, former President Donald J. Trump released a new video slamming President Joe Biden’s plan to revoke Title 42.
Trump said this will lead to dangerous individuals flooding the border and bringing mayhem and chaos into American communities.
“Under my leadership, we had the most secure border in U.S. history by far,” President Trump said. “We replaced catch and release with detain and deport. One of my most successful policies was Title 42, which allowed for instant expulsion of any illegal alien who crossed our borders— anybody, if they were bad, we got them out. We got them out fast. When I take the oath of office on January 20, 2025, we will immediately begin the process of fully securing the border and removing the illegal aliens Joe Biden has unlawfully allowed to break into our country,” Trump said.
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President Trump called on Congress to immediately choke off and terminate all funding for catch and release, and pledged to begin the process of fully securing the border and removing the illegal aliens, if reelected.
The Pentagon is sending a contingent of troops to the southern border to reinforce Customs and Border Protection (CBP) missions ahead of the surge in migrant entrances.
The Department of Homeland Security requested the Pentagon’s assistance with temporarily adding 1,500 military personnel who will mostly perform administrative tasks and not conduct any law enforcement work, leaving that to CBP.
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“At the request of DHS, DOD will provide a temporary increase of an additional 1,500 military personnel, for 90 days, to supplement CBP efforts at the border,” the official said. “These 1,500 military personnel will fill critical capability gaps, such as ground-based detection and monitoring, data entry, and warehouse support, until CBP can address these needs through contracted support.”
“They will not be doing any law enforcement work,” the official added.
The official did not say whether the troops would be drawn from active duty units or be called up from the Ready Reserve.
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