According to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, so many more as 18,000 migrants could pass this same southern border every day once the Trump’s Title 42 health regulation is removed, putting even more strain on federal authorities already stretched thin struggling to suppress the crisis.
WATCH:
“Title 42 is in charge of public health. So, starting in September of last year, we began to plan for its conclusion… “We’re not projecting 18,000,” Mayorkas said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “What we do in the department is a plan for multiple eventualities, so we’re ready for everything,” Mayorkas added.
When presenter Dana Bash probed Mayorkas on whether the Department of Homeland Security would be able to manage such a surge, he responded yes, but that the system would be put under “extreme pressure,” according to reports.
“It is our obligation to be prepared for many circumstances, and we are doing so, and we have very brilliant and devoted people on our team.” “There is no doubt that if we hit that level, it would put a tremendous burden on our system,” the DHS secretary stated.
“That is why the strategy we’ve put together asks for a variety of steps, not just domestically but also with our southern partners,” he stated.
In March 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) implemented Title 42, which empowers border agents to deport individuals attempting to enter the US for public health grounds due to COVID.
However, the CDC stated last month that the program would be allowed to expire on May 23, drawing bipartisan condemnation.
