The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) unveiled on Tuesday its plan for securing the U.S.-Mexico border following the end of the Trump-era Title 42 border policy.
This comes after Louisiana Federal Judge Robert Summerhays issued a temporary halt on the Biden administration’s plan to end the order on Monday.
“The Court discussed the Motion for Temporary Restraining Order [ECF No. 24] filed by Plaintiffs. For the reasons stated on the record, the Court announced its intent to grant the motion,” Summerhays said in a statement.
In a memo from Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, he warns that “migration levels will increase, as smugglers will seek to take advantage of and profit from vulnerable migrants” once Title 42 is lifted.
To combat the potential rise in crime along the border, DHS will crack down on “transnational criminal organizations and smugglers” using a “new intelligence unit to coordinate and strengthen the capability for early warning of migrant movements.”
The department will also allocate additional resources to assist operations on the border, including 600 additional security personnel from various government agencies.
The memo also promises that the department will punish those who enter illegally through “removal, detention, and prosecution.” This would include expedited removal and the detention of single adults “when appropriate,” as well as making asylum adjudications faster to “quickly process and remove from the U.S. those who do not qualify for relief.”
Earlier this month, President Joe Biden announced that he would be lifting Title 42, a controversial border policy implemented by Trump back in March 2020 that allowed the U.S. Border Patrol to turn migrants away.
The order has since been used by both the Trump and Biden administration, with the latter arguing that it was necessary to curb the spread of COVID-19 inside border detention facilities.
The border agency has expressed concerns that ending Title 42 could lead to a possible surge in illegal immigrants that could overwhelm them, as a large number of migrants in Mexican cities are apparently waiting for the policy to drop.
Title 42 is on track to end on May 23, giving the Department of Homeland Security time to prepare for an expected increase in migrants at the border.
