Title 42 expiration – live: Immigration order to end tonight as hundreds of troops sent to Mexico border
Title 42, the Trump-era Covid policy preventing individuals seeking asylum from entering the United States due to health risks, is set to expire tonight, 11 May.
US federal agents and asylum officers are preparing for a massive increase in the number of people seeking asylum at the US’s southern border.
Already, border towns are overwhelmed with the number of people seeking shelter. El Paso has declared a state of emergency ahead of Thursday evening as thousands of migrants have been living on the streets as shelters are at capacity.
Over the past three years, over 2.8m people have been turned away from the US’s southern border.
The policy is coming to an end as the Biden administration ends the Covid-19 public health emergency.
What is Title 42?
15:28 , Ariana Baio
In an effort to reduce the spread of Covid-19 in March 2020, the CDC issued a public health order that allowed authorities to prevent migrants and asylum seekers at US borders from entering the country.
Over the last three years, Title 42 was used to turn away more than 2.8 million people seeking asylum from the US’s southern border.
But with the end of the Covid-19 the public health emergency comes the end of Title 42.
What was once used to manage the border will now end at 11.59pm EST, causing an influx of migrants.
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