Border Patrol Apprehensions Reach Over 10,000 a Day as Title 42 Comes to an End
Border Patrol agents have made more than 10,000 apprehensions of illegal immigrants a day on Monday and Tuesday this week, according to a report from Fox News. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) told reporters that on Tuesday alone, more than 11,000 people were apprehended, and more than 28,500 are currently in custody.
Title 42, a COVID-19-era emergency policy enacted in March 2020, has deterred thousands of illegal border crossings since its conception but will come to an end tomorrow at 11:59 p.m. ET. The policy has been used to turn away over 2.7 million illegal immigrants since March of 2020 by limiting who could be screened for a potential asylum claim in the U.S. CBP has been gearing up for a “worst-case” scenario of over 14,000 crossings a day as migrants flood the U.S. border.
Top border officials have reportedly authorized CBP agents to release migrants into city streets if nearby non-governmental organizations (NGOs) cannot offer shelter. According to CBP agents, the agency facilities are running at 140 percent capacity. TPUSA’s Frontlines Reporters on the ground in El Paso, Texas explained that CBP agents have been handing out “notice to appear” (in court) papers to migrants, proving that they have been processed.
The White House ordered 1,500 troops to the southern border to assist border agents in processing the massive influx of people. Texas Governor Greg Abbott also deployed 10,000 national guard members to the border.
“Even with all our preparation, we expect an additional increase in encounters at our southern border as smugglers seek to take advantage of the change [lifting of Title 42].”
CBP Acting Commissioner Troy Miller
The crisis response, however, is not limited to law enforcement officials. Local first responders will also likely become overwhelmed by the surge of migrants, at the expense of the community of American citizens. Over the past several years, resources have been drawn away from border towns to rescue and assist illegal crossers who have found themselves in harm’s way. Thousands have died while attempting to enter the United States, and a record number of these deaths occurred just last year.
In March of 2021, the Biden Administration allowed CBP to release migrants without “notice to appear” papers to alleviate the agency’s processing and detention overcrowded facilities, via a program called Alternatives to Detention. This required migrants to “check-in” using a mobile device before they could be given a court date — however, NBC found that thousands of migrants were “dropped” from the program suddenly. The same report stated that “600,000 migrants who crossed the U.S. border since March 2021 have been released into the U.S. without being charged or given a date to appear in court.”
“Once the Title 42 order is no longer in place, [the Department of Homeland Security] will process individuals encountered at the border without proper travel documents using its longstanding Title 8 authorities, which provide for meaningful consequences, including barring individuals who are removed from re-entry for five years.”
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas
In 2022, approximately 60 percent of apprehended illegal border crossers had an arrest record for previous attempts at illegal entry. Additionally, 69 percent of illegal migrants in March of 2023 were comprised of single adult males.
Smugglers, anticipating the end of the COVID-19 immigration policy, began bringing thousands of immigrants across the border to make room for the caravans traveling behind them. Over the past several years, millions of immigrants have illegally entered the U.S., however, this historic surge of crossings is only expected to worsen following the end of Title 42 tomorrow.
