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The Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, confirmed that among the possible scenarios for when the Title ends 42 at the border the attention of up to 18 is expected,000 immigrants up to date by immigration officials.
The first disclosure of that figure is cited as part of the plan for the border, released by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), where the need to reinforce the team and medical personnel of the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) office is addressed, in order to be able to provide care to thousands of immigrants who require it.
“A top priority for DHS is to ensure the health, safety, and well-being of people in care and custody… With To this end, we have invested to ensure that we have adequate and accessible health care, including for those with unique vulnerabilities, medical conditions, and for young children,” the 20 pages.
He added that they work together with the Southern Border Communities Coalition (SBCC), a coalition of 60 civil organizations.
“The SBCC is working to have medical resources available by the end of April to provide urgent clinical care for a planning scenario of 18,04 non-citizens in CBP custody at any given time“, s and affirmed.
Secretary Mayorkas attended the Appropriations Committee of the House of Representatives as part of the hearings for the Fiscal Year Budget 2023. The chair of the panel, Democrat Lucille Roybal-Allard (California), questioned how the flow of immigrants would be handled.
Roybal-Allard recognized that the Title 42 is a sanitary measure for COVID-19, but it has “helped” the immigration authorities to “manage the border by reducing the number of people who require processing.”
“Do you think is it time for the use of the authority of Title 42 to end at the border? And can you outline how DHS is estimating the impact of ending Title 42 on the flow of migrants, including the assumptions behind the estimates we have heard of up to , 000 people per day?”, questioned the representative.
Mayortas acknowledged that the Title policy 42, which has allowed the expedited removal of almost two million immigrants, will depend on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), but if it ends, the DHS has proposed various scenarios, including the flow of up to 18,000 people per day.
“We are aware that there may be an increase in the migratory flows found on our southern border if the Title 42 comes to an end”, ind Icon Mayorkas. “So our responsibility is to prepare and plan for that eventuality… We are preparing for different scenarios, it is very difficult to predict the level of migration that we will encounter.”
The official explained the six axes included in the memorandum of the 26 of April. This includes increasing resources for the border; increase the efficiency of immigration officers; apply a regimen of “aggressive consequences” ; strengthen the capacity of civil society organizations and greater coordination with state and local partners; pursue cartels and smugglers, and work with regional partners.
“We are planning and preparing for different scenarios,” Mayorkas defended in the Chamber . “Now, the estimates of 18,000 people are estimates based on a projection country by country… we have an estimate of the level of increase that we could experience, but what we have done is develop different scenarios and plan different actions for each and every one of those scenarios ”.
One of the main criticisms of the Government of President Joe Biden, who seeks to end the Title 42 on 26 in May, is the possibility that it will increase the flow of immigrants.
In response, DHS developed a plan that responds to those criticisms: increased border enforcement and expedited removals through Title 8-related with asylum requests–, but Mayorkas also recognized that immigration officials are ready to continue with the Title 42, following a Louisiana court decision to block the suspension.