The situation at the southern U.S. border is expected to get even worse next week.
Title 42, a Trump pandemic-era policy that allows for the immediate expulsion of some migrants without allowing them to claim asylum, is about to end.
Border officials believe numbers already at about 3 million this year may hit 9 million in the months ahead.
Border communities like El Paso, Texas are among those bracing for the worst.
“It’s a true emergency for the community. It’s a federal crisis that’s happening within the border of El Paso,” said El Paso Deputy Mayor Mario D’Agostino.
Already overflowing migrant facilities are likely to become even more overwhelmed in the coming days. Massive groups continue to arrive, some up to 1,000 at a time as the end of Title 42 looms on Dec. 21 per the Biden administration.
“Very tiring. As Jesus said, ‘The laborers are few. But the harvest is great.’ So, we’re just praying for more people to get involved and help the situation,” said Pastor Kelly Knott, missions coordinator for the El Paso Baptist Association.
Long a migrant refuge, thousands of migrants are now being released onto city streets. With some burning anything, they can find to stay warm while more wait to cross the river from Mexico.
“In Ciudad, Juarez, I have never seen a situation like we are facing right now,” said Hope Centers Director Elias Rodriguez.
Texas lawmakers from both sides of the aisle are calling on President Biden to extend Title 42 crafted in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic by the Trump administration as a pandemic response policy.
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In California, Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom, a longtime champion of policies to accommodate and expand protections to migrants, said the end of title 42 will break his state.
“There is no question in my mind we are not prepared for a post-Title 42 world,” he said.
Despite mounting fears over the fallout, not everyone is convinced the policy will end next week as planned. In another twist, the Biden administration is asking a U.S. appeals court to rule that the CDC was within its legal authority to issue the order in the first place.
“I think as we grow closer and the fact the Biden administration is already appealing the process, that it could be January or February before we know it’s lifted or not,” said Arial Ruiz, an analyst at the Migration Policy Institute.
Meanwhile, Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott is calling for an immediate investigation into whether non-governmental agencies are playing a role “in planning & assisting illegal crossings into Texas with taxpayer dollars.”
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