COVID immigration rule expires May 11. How will the end of Title 42 affect California?

Tens of thousands of migrants are seeking to enter the United States through its southern border as Title 42, a pandemic era federal immigration measure, ends at midnight Eastern Time tonight — and California officials say they are preparing for a surge of activity along the Mexican border.

Invoked under former President Donald Trump, Title 42 allows border officials to swiftly expel asylum-seekers in the name of public health.

The Biden administration is winding down pandemic restrictions with the end of the COVID-19 national emergency. In its place, the government plans a carrot-and-stick strategy that expands pathways to lawful migration while increasing penalties for illegal entry. Immigration advocates say the initiative closely mirrors Trump administration policy.

U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials told McClatchy they would not predict where attempted California-Mexico crossings might occur. The agency said only that it is prepared to adapt to what could be an unpredictable and fast-moving situation with assets in place all along the southwest border..

Migrants have tried in recent days to cross into California’s Friendship Park around the border wall that juts into the Pacific on small skiffs called panga boats. It indicates that the state may not be immune to a surge despite posing a longer and more demanding path for migrants across Mexico.

Over a year ago, at San Ysidro in San Diego, border agents witnessed migrants attempting what they call “circumvention of the lanes” — waiting for regular processing before jumping out of line to get across the border.

“If people are rushing the border either on foot or by vehicles, at any point, we will adjust to handle it,” one Homeland Security official said. “We’re going to do, operationally, whatever is necessary.”

Others are less confident about U.S. readiness for the transition out of Title 42.

“Seeing the recent images of thousands of people making their way through Central America and Mexico is alarming,” San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond, who plans to visit the border Thursday, said in a statement, “and I’m concerned the Federal Government is ill-prepared and has not put the resources in place to adequately protect San Diegans and the asylum-seeking migrants.”

What is California doing as Title 42 ends?

The federal government is responsible for immigration policy and processing. While other states like Texas and Arizona have implemented or prepared to ask for more enforcement on the border from their states’ National Guard, California has not.

Scott Murray, deputy director of public affairs for California’s Department of Social Services, which covers social safety net programs, told The Bee in an email that the state has supported over 350,000 migrants in the last two years through a network of non-governmental organizations and community partners.

Murray wrote that the state did so “with temporary services and onward travel coordination to help migrants reach their final destinations and pursue their immigration proceedings.”

California supports three migrant shelters, two in San Diego and one in Imperial. It also aids travel staging sites, which are shorter-term respites, and six non-congregate shelters, like motels where people are afforded levels of privacy, in Riverside County. The state has invested about $1 billion in these places since 2019 and fought for federal support, Murray wrote.

“California and local communities in the region have done a lot to prepare,” said Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, policy director at the American Immigration Council.

“For the last two years, the California government has actively worked with the Biden administration to provide shelter and services to migrants who are released by the federal government,” Reichlin-Melnick said. “And what we’ve seen is that the number of migrants crossing in the California area is nowhere near the level it is in other parts of the country, so the impact on local communities has been relatively minor.”

What is Title 42?

Title 42 came into effect in March 2020, when the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said limiting migration was needed to curb the spread of COVID-19. This allowed U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security, to immediately expel migrants and asylum seekers into Mexico.

Since it was implemented, Title 42 has been used more than 2.8 million times to expel migrants.

Human Rights First reported in December that the order was related to almost 14,000 reports of “murder, torture, kidnapping, rape, and other violent attacks on migrants and asylum seekers blocked in or expelled to Mexico under Title 42 since President Biden took office.”

California Sen. Alex Padilla, a Democrat, told The Bee his office was in constant communication with the White House over responding to Title 42’s expiration, “to remind them we need a secure, orderly, humane process at the border.”

Padilla called the policy “a bad idea to begin with.”

What is the Biden administration doing as Title 42 ends?

Among the Biden administration’s measures is a policy that will make it harder for migrants who travel to the U.S.-Mexico border to seek political asylum, officials announced Wednesday.

Asylum seekers who arrive without prior authorization must show proof that they requested asylum in any of the countries they traveled through, and that the request was denied. The rule is expected to take effect after Thursday as it is still being finalized by the U.S. Department of Justice.

The policy is among several changes that the Department of Homeland Security is rolling out with the end of Title 42.

At a Wednesday press conference, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas defended the administration’s actions, but acknowledged that the nation’s “broken immigration system” could be in for a difficult period.

“Even after nearly two years of preparation we expect to see large numbers of encounters at our southern border in the days and weeks after May 11,” Mayorkas said. “We are already seeing high numbers of encounters in certain sectors.”

Mayorkas touted new legal pathways for migrants, including an asylum-appointment system that uses a smartphone app known as CBP One. He warned that anyone choosing illegal paths will face bigger hurdles to getting protection in the U.S.

He blamed Congress for failing to sufficiently fund the agency ahead of the predictable surge. Congress has failed to pass large-scale immigration reform in over two decades despite recent efforts by California lawmakers.

On Thursday, the House considered sweeping legislation to revamp the nation’s immigration laws and make it much more difficult for undocumented immigrants to cross the border.

Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Elk Grove, led the debate. He cited data about how crossings of undocumented immigrants have increased since Biden became president in 2021.

Now, he said, “we can see at this very moment this was only a prelude to the mass invasion now unfolding before our eyes.”

McClintock, who chairs the House immigration subcommittee, said Thursday that most of those seeking asylum are not true asylum seekers.

“Yes we are a nation of immigrants. We are also a nation of law. Millions of immigrants come to our country legally every year. They obey our laws, they wait patiently. They do everything our country asks of them,” he said.

Miami Herald Caribbean correspondent Jacqueline Charles contributed reporting.