Cheers and Applause Break Out as Biden Administration Ends Title 42 Pandemic-Era Rule at U.S.-Mexico Border

On Friday, the Biden administration ended the Title 42 pandemic-era rule that had allowed authorities to expel those entering the United States unlawfully, and an estimated 60,000 migrants were waiting near the U.S.-Mexico border. Cheers and applause broke out as migrants prepared to cross the border into El Paso.

Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said that U.S. officials knew the transition from the public health authority of Title 42 to “traditional” immigration authorities was “going to be tough,” but that they were ready. He added that the U.S. had had a plan for more than a year and a half and had been executing it.

Once across, men and women, some in hoodies and sweaters to guard against the chilly desert night air, walked in single file to a U.S. Border Patrol van. Dozens of migrants had already boarded three white school buses in small groups, Border Patrol vans partially obscuring the media’s ability to see them.

The bus was flanked by members of the National Guard and Border Patrol in green and camouflage uniforms. A man and a woman held hands, the woman covering her nose and mouth with her sleeve as dust filled the air.

The end of the Title 42 pandemic-era rule marks a major shift in U.S. immigration policy, and the Biden administration is prepared to take individuals into custody and “remove them very quickly under traditional immigration authorities.”