Despite repeated warnings from Democratic lawmakers who represent border states, according to multiple reports.
White House director of communications Kate Bedingfield did not confirm the plans reported by CNN and the Associated Press when asked by reporters Wednesday, referring the matter to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“Title 42 is a public health directive,” Bedingfield said. “It is not an immigration or migration enforcement measure.”
“We have every expectation that when the CDC ultimately decides it’s appropriate to lift Title 42, there will be an influx of people to the border,” Bedingfield added. “And so we are doing a lot of work to plan for that contingency.”
Title 42 has been in place since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and allows border officials to immediately expel migrants who attempt to cross the border without allowing them a chance to claim asylum. The policy has been used to expel migrants more than 1.7 million times, according to official estimates.
Lifting Title 42 would restore border officials’ obligations to take in asylum-seekers until their claims can be adjudicated.
When President Biden took office, he vowed to roll back many immigration policies put in place by the Trump administration, including Title 42. However, multiple state and federal court rulings have kept the policy in place.
Earlier this month, the DC Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the order could stay. However, it moved to require officials to hold more migrant families during screening to ensure they will not be sent back to a country where their lives could be in danger.
On March 11, the CDC announced that Title 42 no longer applied to unaccompanied migrant children.
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