Border security officials continue to struggle amid unlawful migrant surges.
Officials are expecting more and larger surges of unlawful migrants into the United States following the expiration of Title 42.
Title 42 is an emergency regulation invoked during the Covid-19 pandemic that granted law enforcement officers greater authority in detaining migrants attempting to unlawfully cross into the United States. After this law officially expired on May 11, officials noted a massive increase of unlawful migrants at the southern border, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
The Biden administration instituted a rule requiring asylum seekers to stay in Mexico while requesting asylum in the United States, similar to a Trump-era policy to the same effect, as The Dallas Express previously reported.
In preparation for the expected surge, Governor Greg Abbott announced on May 8 that the Texas Tactical Border Force, complete with Blackhawk helicopters and C-130 aircraft, would be deployed to different locations along the southern border to repel the surge.
“The Texas Tactical Border Force will bolster our Operation Lone Star efforts to secure the Texas border amid the chaos caused by President Biden’s elimination of Title 42,” said Abbott in a press release.
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Border Patrol agents made 6,300 arrests on May 12 and 4,200 on May 13, just days after the expiration of Title 42, according to CBS News. However, some officials believe these latest surges are only the beginning.
Matthew Hudak, Border Patrol deputy chief, said in a court filing on May 12 that officials predict between 12,000 and 14,000 crossings per day, noting that no official estimation can be made for how many people will cross given failures in the past, according to NBC 5 DFW.
Because of these numbers, the Biden administration said it will seek permission from an appellate court to release unlawful migrants absent any orders to appear in court.
Officials claim that keeping unlawful migrants detained while they wait for a court appearance could result in overcrowding in holding facilities, noting that the process for release is already a common practice to relieve this problem since 2021.
“We are holding about 5,000 people and my capacity is about 4,600,” said Gloria Chaves, chief patrol agent of the Rio Grande Valley sector, according to CBS News.
Officials say 27,000 migrants were in custody along the border last week, and this number could nearly double to 45,000 by the end of May.
While many are attempting to cross into the nation unlawfully, there are also migrants attempting to use an app to gain legal entry.
CBP One is a free mobile application launched in October 2020 that allows citizens of central and northern Mexico to present themselves at locations along the southern border and potentially enter the nation for asylum. These ports of entry for the state of Texas include El Paso, Eagle Pass, Brownsville, Laredo, and Hidalgo.
However, some attempting to use this system are facing frustration. Teresa Muñoz, a resident of Michoacan in Mexico who had been staying at a Tijuana shelter with her two children and grandchild, told CBS News that she had been attempting to gain entry into the nation through the app for a month.