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A senior Interior Ministry official predicts that the number of encounters with migrants at the southern border will decline after the Biden administration revoked the 42nd Public Health Order later this month, despite broader projections of huge migrant growth. in the coming months.
Blas Nunes-Neto, Acting Assistant Secretary for Border and Immigration Policy, was asked by Senator Josh Hawley, R-Mo., At a Senate Homeland Security Committee meeting to suspend Title 42. The order has been in effect since March 2020. to expel the majority of migrants at the southern border due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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“Title 42 had a really interesting effect on migration, because because of the number of recurring borders we see, it actually increased our number at the border,” Nunes-Neto said.
He said the data showed that Title 42 had caused an increase in migration, especially from Mexico, due to the lack of consequences for migrants trying to enter the United States while the order is in force.
Senator Josh Hawley, R-Mo., Speaks at the Conference on Conservative Political Action on February 24, 2022 in Orlando, Florida (AP Photo / John Raoux)
“So eliminating it will reduce the amount of illegal immigration, do you think?” Hawley asked.
Nunes-Neto claims that as the Biden administration moves to expedited removal instead of Title 42, there will be a decline in border meetings. Accelerated removal is a process used to deport recent migrants, unless they seek asylum and are screened.
“I think that over time, once we start to impose significant effects on immigration on people at the border again through our use of expedited removal, especially for single adults and especially for those in Mexico, you will see a reduction,” Nunes-Neto said. . The exchange was first spotted by The Washington Post.
Hawley wasn’t convinced.
This is news, ladies and gentlemen, Hawley wondered. “You obviously want to repeal Title 42, and you think repealing it will reduce illegal immigration at the border.
The statement marks a change in the tone of the administration, which emphasizes how it plans to deal with the increase in migration. He said he planned up to 18,000 meetings with migrants a day after the order stopped. The Immigration and Customs Service (ICE) also said it expected potential arrivals to triple.
A family of migrants is sitting after treatment on May 5, 2022 in Roma, Texas. (Brendan Bell / Getty Images)
However, officials and some immigration experts have been saying for months that once Title 42 is over, there may be a drop in the number of meetings due to a reduction in re-entry attempts. Migrants expelled under Title 42 have not been punished for attempting to cross the border, so many will make several attempts. As a result, this increases the number of border meetings each month.
Customs and border services said that out of 221,303 meetings with migrants in March, only 159,900 were “unique”. Of the 221,303, 28% had had at least one previous meeting in the last 12 months, compared to a recurrence rate of 14% between fiscal 2014-2019.
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This has led to some speculation that when Title 42 is dropped, the total number of meetings may decrease – even if the number of individual migrants coming to the border increases.
Republicans and some Democrats have called on the Biden administration to reverse the course of ending Title 42, warning that this would not only encourage more migrants to flood the border, but will lead to a significantly higher number of people released into the country.
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The Biden administration said Title 42 was a public health order, not an immigration order, and called on Congress to adopt immigration reforms instead. Last year, Democrats introduced an administration-backed bill that included a massive amnesty for millions of illegal immigrants, but failed due to a lack of Republican support.
A number of Democrats have signed a bill that will prevent the Biden administration from terminating the contract within 60 days after the Centers for Disease Control closes its public health emergency for COVID-19 and has an adequate plan.
Meanwhile, 21 Republican states have filed a lawsuit to block the suspension of the order. The hearing in the case is scheduled for next week.
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