Thousands of migrants waiting at the U.S. border despite Title 42 staying in effect

Around 50,000 migrants are waiting near the U.S.-Mexico border as they expect the Biden administration to lift Title 42, the pandemic-era rule that allows border agents to turn away migrants seeking asylum. 

The Department of Homeland Security is tracking 40,000 to 50,000 migrants who are waiting in Mexican shelters near the border for their opportunity to enter the united states, according to internal documents reviewed by Axios. 

According to the administration’s internal data, around 8,000 undocumented migrants are attempting to cross the border every day.  

The Migrants are coming from close by countries such as Honduras, El Salvador, Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras, and from places further away such as Peru, Haiti, and Colombia. Some migrants were also coming from non-traditional countries, including Belarus, Russia, Nepal, China, Uzbekistan, and the Republic of Georgia. 

Out of the 8,000, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are releasing about 1,200 migrants and 1,300 families into the country, according to Axios. 

The news of the large number of migrants waiting in shelters comes days after a judge blocked the lifting of Title 42, a Trump-era rule that allowed border agents to turn away migrants without hearing their cases at the border to prevent the further spread of Covid-19 within the country. 

Since the rule was implemented in March 2020, more than 1.9 million migrants have been expelled from the United States. 

The Biden Administration had planned to lift the rule on May 23. However, U.S. District Judge Robert Summerhays in Lafayette, Louisiana, ordered that the restrictions stay in place until a lawsuit against the reversal of the policy plays out in court.

Despite the rule still remaining in effect, border towns saw a surge in undocumented migrant crossings over the weekend. In Yuma, Arizona, for example, Border Patrol officers went from intercepting around 1,000 migrants a day in April to 1,300 on Saturday and 1,500 on Sunday alone.

Officers at Eagle Pass, Texas, apprehended 1,831 migrants between Friday and Saturday, compared to April’s average of 1,361. El Paso also reported 1,296 migrants who were caught, compared to the daily average of 995.