Biden administration to lift Title 42 on May 23; fears loom around potential migrant wave

PHOENIX - On April 1, the Biden administration announced it was ending the Title 42 health policy at the U.S.-Mexico border by the end of May.

The policy has been used by both the Trump and Biden administrations to quickly expel migrants at the southern border since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The order was implemented to help keep the coronavirus from spreading into our country. Many migrant advocates say getting rid of Title 42 is great news and should have been done a long time ago, while those who want to keep it say this will create a huge rush of even more migrants to our southern border.

"We got a lot of people on the ranch 24 hours a day coming from Mexico, and it's getting tougher. We're not leaving, but it's getting harder to raise cows," said John Ladd.

Ladd's ranch in southern Arizona sits along 10.5 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border. He's seen a lot of changes over the years, but lately, he's seeing a spike of illegal crossings onto his land. About 100 people every day. He says if Title 42 is lifted, even more migrants will start to cross.

The Biden administration announced that Title 42 will end on May 23. After that, migrants who cross the border will return to a policy where they're eligible for an asylum hearing.

"The arc of the pandemic no longer requires it, when we have ramped our public health protocols, and we've been working on those for quite some time," said Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on CNN's "The Lead."

Arizona's Attorney General is warning the Biden administration that the U.S. will face a "tidal wave" of migration if it lifts Title 42.

Senators Mark Kelly and Kyrsten Sinema also say we need a sufficient plan in place before it is lifted.

When it's a public health order, not an immigration policy, it returned about 55% of migrants, rather than being released into the U.S.

Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels says, "Yes, I understand if we don’t have the health pandemic in this country anymore, Title 42 will go away. What concerns law enforcement is the lack of action plans to secure our border over the last 15 months."

Mayorkas announced that they have a plan in place to address a migrant surge and will increase law enforcement personnel and resources as needed.