Biden to set up migrant processing centers in Guatemala, Colombia as Title 42 ends in just 14 DAYS

Biden administration is setting up migrant processing centers in Central and South America in an effort to expedite deportations and further deter illegal immigration to the US

The first centers will be located in Colombia and Guatemala, two countries that have developed major bottlenecks for those trying to transit to migrate to the US

Senior officials told CBS News that the administration is “talking” with other countries to expand the program and open more migrant processing centers in Latin America.

In an effort to deal with the crisis on the southern border, as the pandemic-era Title 42 expires in two weeks, President Joe Biden has also authorized Army reserves to move to the southern border.

It comes along with an executive order issued Thursday to activate Army reserves to assist on the southern border as pandemic-era Title 42 expires May 11.

Title 42 allowed for the expedited expulsion of migrants from the US during the public health emergency of the COVID-19 pandemic. As of March 2020, officials have been able to use this policy in more than 2.7 million cases when processing asylum applications from migrants.

But now that there is no longer a health crisis in the US, the policy will end on May 11. Republicans and border policy hawks have been highly critical of the end of the program, claiming there is no alternative to ensuring the southern border is not crossed and even more overwhelmed once Title 42 expires.

Internal projections show that migration at the southern border could increase by as much as 10,000 to 13,000 a day when the policy expires next month.

It appears that the Biden administration’s announcement on Thursday to activate army reserves and set up centers in Latin America is a pre-emptive response to the looming surge.

Another method of deterring unlawful crossings after the end of Title 42 is that the Biden administration is working to finalize a rule to disqualify migrants from asylum if they did not seek humanitarian protection in a country they had to cross to reach the reach the US and then entered the country illegally.

The migrant processing centers in Guatemala and Colombia will serve as regional hubs to screen migrants and determine their eligibility for asylum or refugee status in the US.

Currently, migrants who illegally cross the southern border to apply for asylum are often released into the country pending a decision on their asylum application. This has led to millions without legal status disappearing into the country upon release from customs and border guard custody.

Internal forecasts predict migration could increase by 10,000 to 13,000 per day once Title 42 expires

In addition to expanded measures to contain the crisis on the southern border, the government also announced Thursday that it is expanding a program that allows migrants to come to the US if they have family members who are citizens or permanent residents.

While the current policy only applies to Haitian and Cuban migrants, the expanded version would also allow citizens of Colombia, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras to participate in the family reunification program.

“Effective today … I authorize the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Homeland Security to place on active duty those units and individual members of the Ready Reserve under the jurisdiction of the Secretary concerned, as the Secretary concerned deems necessary,”

Biden wrote in a statement on Thursday about his executive action.

While Biden noted that the power to activate the reserves is to respond to “concerning international drug trafficking along the southwestern border,” they could also be used to address a wave of migration once Title 42 protections expire at 11. May is no longer in effect.