Title 42 expulsion
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) under the Trump administration used this provision to generally block land entry for many migrants.
The program allows U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to prohibit the entry of persons who potentially pose a health risk by being subject to previously announced travel restrictions or by unlawfully entering the country to bypass health-screening measures.
[11] This policy has contributed to a decline in both 'gotaways' and border encounters as those who are apprehended are subject to stricter rules upon removal from the United States if they were to attempt to reenter.
[12] In March 2020, the Center for Disease Control under the Trump administration issued a public health order allowing for the rapid expulsion of unauthorized border crossers and asylum seekers, citing COVID-19 concerns.
[15] Physicians for Human Rights noted that the policy had been applied unfairly against migrants and asylees and that its stated purpose of containing the spread of COVID-19 was dubious as the U.S. continued to allow millions of people to cross the US–Mexico border weekly.
[20][21][22] In early February 2021, the Mexican government announced that it would stop accepting non-Mexican family units with minor children returned to Mexico under Title 42.
[26] In December 2021, Anne Schuchat, the second-highest official at the CDC, testified that the expulsions of migrants under Title 42 lacked a sufficient public health rationale.
[27] In March 2022, the DC Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Biden administration could continue to swiftly remove migrant families under Title 42, but "only to places where they will not be persecuted or tortured.
[8] The ruling required the United States government to process all asylum seekers under immigration law as previous to Title 42's implementation, and Sullivan specifically called out the CDC for intentionally ignoring the negative effects of implementing Title 42 and not considering alternative approaches to expulsion such as vaccination, outdoor processing, and allowing asylum seekers to quarantine with U.S.
[8][39] In response to the ruling, a group of states seeking to keep the policy in place appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, and on December 19, 2022, Chief Justice John Roberts temporarily maintained Title 42 and stayed the decision by Judge Emmet G.
[46] In order to mitigate any potential increase in migrants due to the end of this policy, the Biden administration announced plans to strengthen the number of troops stationed at the U.S.–Mexico border.
[48][needs update] Texas governor Greg Abbott also announced that Texas would resume a program to send migrants to cities controlled by Democrats, such as Los Angeles, Chicago, Denver, and Washington, D.C.[49][needs update] Title 42, which resulted in many repeat attempts from people expelled,[50] led to illegal border crossings at record levels between 2021 and 2023, averaging around 2 million people per year,[51] as well as an increase in 'gotaways' which dropped to a record low rate after Title 42 expired.
