Title 42 is ending on Thursday – so what will the border look like in a post-pandemic world?

Title 42 finally comes to an end on Thursday, May 11, and there are at least 10,000 migrants in Mexico waiting to immediately cross the southern US border once the policy is no longer in effect.

The public health measure was implemented by then-President Donald Trump in March 2020 as a way to suppress migration across the southern border at the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

While many saw it as a way to prevent COVID-19 from spreading through illegal immigration and as a way to deal with the spikes in migrant crossings, immigrant advocates felt it was inhumane for asylum seekers in the U.S. .

So what is Title 42, when was it issued, and what are authorities and the southern border bracing for when it ends next week?

Keep reading as DailyMail.com breaks it all down.

History of Title 42

Title 42 was first introduced nearly eight decades ago as part of the Public Health Service Act of 1944.

The policy allows border and immigration authorities to prohibit entry of those who may pose a health risk or who have recently visited a country where a communicable disease was present.

In particular, the law is aimed at stopping those who have illegally entered the country and thus been able to evade any health screening measures.

During the coronavirus pandemic, Title 42 was used to immediately deport migrants without processing their asylum applications due to the declared public health emergency.

Run title 42 and try to terminate

Trump deployed Title 42 in March 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic hit the US

Not only did the then president use it as a way to prevent migrants from bringing the virus into the country and spreading it, but it also helped further his tough stance on immigration.

President Joe Biden has tried more than once to end Title 42, the first attempt to do so in May 2022.

However, Republicans and illegal immigration hawks argued that as long as a health emergency is declared in the US, the policy should remain in place. They have since also argued that the program should continue because there is nothing to replace it and illegal immigration will spike once it ends.

In March 2022, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) decided that the intensity of the pandemic had lessened enough to end Title 42 evictions.

May 23, 2022 was the first date set by the Biden administration to end use of the policy.

But just before the expiration date was reached, Louisiana Federal District Judge Robert Summerhays blocked the administration from waiving Title 42 and the evictions continued until the original deadline.

Later in December 2022, Biden again attempted to end Title 42 just before the Christmas break, when reports and footage surfaced of migrants freezing on the streets of El Paso, Texas.

The second attempt to end the policy came in November when federal district judge Emmet Sullivan ruled it illegal and set a December 21 end date.

However, the Supreme Court intervened to quash that ruling on Dec. 19.

The policy remained in effect while the legal process unfolded.

May 11, 2022 serves as the deadline for Title 42 — which coincides with the end of a three-year public health emergency.

The declaration of the health emergency gave the president certain powers that can only be used in times of emergency in the US, including more executive privileges.

Consequences of title 42 and its approaching end

Since Title 42 came into force in March 2020, migrants have been deported in more than 2.5 million cases. It is unclear at what rate there are repeated evictions under the policy.

Taking into account all Title 42 evictions since March 2020, at least 81 percent have occurred since Biden’s inauguration after he failed twice to end the policy.

With the final deadline of May 11, the Biden administration also announced last week the deployment of 1,500 active-duty soldiers to the US-Mexico border, where they will remain for 90 days as border communities brace for massive spikes in border crossings. .

It is feared that the number of migrants who could cross in the days after Title 42 expires could be between 700,000 and 1 million.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said on Sunday morning it will be a “tough challenge” to deal with migration at the southern border now that Title 42 has ended and said there will be “unprecedented” immigration across the hemisphere after Thursday.

“There are already reports from Brownsville, Texas. Shelters are overwhelmed. The cities of Chicago and New York are already overwhelmed. What will May 12 look like if we’re already overwhelmed before Title 42 expires?’ NBC News Meet the Press host Chuck Todd posed.

“First of all, this is a very tough challenge and has been for years, as we all acknowledge. We are seeing a level of migration not just at our southern border, but across the hemisphere that is unprecedented,” Mayorkas replied.

“It is, I think, the largest migration in our hemisphere since World War II,” he added.

“Our approach is to build legal routes, weed out the ruthless smugglers, create legal routes so that people can access humanitarian aid without having to make the perilous journey from their home countries. And at the same time, if they get to our southern border between the ports of entry, we will take consequences.’

Mayorkas has assured Congress that the southern border is closed and has refused to call the immense number of illegal crossings a “crisis.”

Republicans have called for Mayorkas to resign or be impeached, claiming he lied to Congress and the American people and is guilty of dereliction of duty.

As Title 42 comes to an end, a resident of Brownsville, Texas, said she wonders if Mayorkas and Biden “do care” for the people of these frontier communities.

When asked what her message would be for Mayorkas, the resident told Fox News on Sunday: “I would ask him if he cares about us because I have to take my son to school… and it’s cruel not to have a plan.” have for all the people you are supposed to represent.’

“He keeps talking about ‘humanity’ and ‘being compassionate’ and ‘taking out the cartel’ — and it’s just lip service,” she added.