Title 42 ends: Policy that blocked migrants for three years expires without mass surge

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Fears of mass border crossings or stampedes were not realized in the Texas border communities of El Paso and Brownsville. The few immigrants who did cross in the initial minutes after Title 42 expired expressed immense gratitude the instant they stepped on U.S. soil.

“God helped me get here,” a migrant from Cuba told reporters in Brownsville immediately after entering the U.S. He said he crossed by himself and at one point was robbed of his belongings on the trek to the U.S. for a better life.

“Thank God I’m here in the USA,” the man told the Washington Examiner. Shortly after his arrival, two more migrants from Venezuela came after him on the levee road just across from the Rio Grande.

Without Title 42 in place, border towns braced for the worst on Friday and anticipated a large influx of migrants camping out in Mexico. Texas activated a new Tactical Border Force, President Joe Biden sent 1,500 active-duty troops to the border, and cities such as El Paso and Brownsville declared an emergency.

“I think now we’re getting down to D-Day,” Jose Sanchez, regional director of the Texas Department of Public Safety’s western region, said in an interview hours before Title 42 expired.

With Title 42 gone, the Biden administration policy returns to the decades-old immigration policy under a section of code known as Title 8. Those powers include allowing illegal immigrants to be punished in such a way that will render them ineligible to come to the country legally.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas released several statements as Title 42 ended to stress that the border is not open.

“Starting tonight, people who arrive at the border without using a lawful pathway will be presumed ineligible for asylum. We are ready to humanely process and remove people without a legal basis to remain in the U.S.,” Mayorkas said in a video posted to Twitter.

Mayorkas said there are 24,000 Border Patrol agents and officers at the southwest border, as well as thousands of troops and contractors and over a thousand asylum officers to help enforce the new laws.

“Do not believe the lies of smugglers. The border is not open,” Mayorkas cautioned. “People who do not use available lawful pathways to enter the U.S. now face tougher consequences, including a minimum five-year ban on reentry and potential criminal prosecution. Together with our partners throughout the federal government and Western Hemisphere, we are prepared for this transition.”

A reporter with the Washington Examiner accompanied four Republican senators who planned a late-night visit to the border of Brownsville, where just across the Rio Grande stands a robust camp of migrants who could be spotted standing next to campfires outside of their tents.

Between the U.S. side and the migrants is the dangerous and rapidly flowing Rio Grande, along with miles of barbed wire fencing used to deter migrants from crossing. Evidence of those who crossed could be seen strung across the barbed fences, as some migrants use clothing and blankets to blunt the edges of the sharp razor wire in order to maneuver across the barrier.

“They’re camped out right across that river. All they’re doing is they’re waiting for Title 42 to end. Once Title 42 ends, they’re going to come across,” said Brandon Judd, the president of the National Border Patrol Council who led the press tour.

“The reason they’re waiting for that is because we are still expelling about 40% of the people who cross illegally,” Judd added. “Once Title 42 drops, that drops to nothing. We’re not going to expel anybody.”

But just after midnight, scant migrants came to the Brownsville side.

A federal judge in Florida issued a temporary restraining order just before midnight that put a two-week halt on a Biden policy that would release detained migrants on parole.

CBP released a statement saying it would comply with the court order “and is assessing next steps.” However, CBP expressed frustration with the judge’s decision.

In El Paso, Texas, it was a quiet night. A Customs and Border Protection spokesman for El Paso told the Washington Examiner the agency is holding the migrants on the other side of the fence where media are set up.

Occasionally, a large white bus or windowless white van will emerge from the fenced gate. Media are not allowed up to the fence and cannot view the other side to see if a crowd has formed.

The only excitement in the early hours after midnight came when a Border Patrol truck driving through the darkness of the brush ended up in a ditch. The crash took place just off to the side where media were set up, only 50 yards away from reporter live shots.

Despite an apparent nonsurge from the northern and southern ends of the Texas border, footage captured on the ground in Yuma, Arizona, showed hundreds of migrants lined up along the tall border wall to await processing Thursday night.

Lifting the Title 42 policy will be a contentious political issue for the foreseeable future. House Republicans have sought to push through immigration bills to clamp down on illegal crossings, although such legislation stands little chance of passing in the Democratic-controlled Senate.

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The number of migrants at the U.S. border has spiked significantly since Biden took office in January 2021, driven by economic instability and political repression in countries including Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua.

Since the beginning of Biden’s term, as many as 4.6 million people have been arrested after crossing illegally.