Border officials are reportedly being warned to prepare for the processing of more than 1,000 migrant families each day ahead of President Joe Biden’s expected plans to terminate Title 42 by the end of July, The Washington Free Beacon reported.
A senior official reportedly told Free Beacon that the administration is prepping for the policy’s termination by warning border agents to be ready for processing up to 1,200 family units each day. Former President Donald Trump implemented Title 42 to expel migrants from the country during the novel coronavirus pandemic. The official reportedly told the outlet that once the migrants are released from border patrol they would be essentially free to remain in the U.S.
Some immigrants skip court hearings that are sometimes not scheduled for two years after they are detained. “Border Patrol agents, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and customs officers are stretched thin trying to protect and secure our border,” the senior official reportedly said. “Asking them to process roughly 6,000 people a week undoubtedly strain already thin resources and increase human trafficking and drug smuggling.”
“All of these people will become permanent residents,” a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) official told Free Beacon. “There’s no political will from the Biden administration to deport families once they’re already admitted. The White House knows that. The end of Title 42 will result in de facto open borders.” Republicans have pushed back against plans to scrap Title 42, with House Democrats blocking a Republican-led amendment in June that would prevent Biden’s administration from ending the policy.