Undocumented migrant crossings dropped on Friday, the first day after Title 42 was lifted

Two U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials told NBC News that undocumented immigrants crossing the border declined on Friday, the first day Title 42 was lifted.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection stopped more than 6,200 illegal immigrants on Friday, compared with about 11,000 on Tuesday and Wednesday and more than 10,000 on Thursday, officials said.

These figures include both migrants who illegally cross between ports of entry (more than 7,000 as of Friday) and migrants who appear legally at ports of entry without proper entry documents.

Covid-19-era restrictions that allowed immigration officials to quickly turn migrants back at the U.S.-Mexico border expired at 11:59 p.m. ET Thursday, introducing tougher policies for asylum seekers. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorcas said in a statement that those who crossed the border using legal channels were “presumed to be ineligible for asylum.”

He said authorities are prepared to humanely process and remove people who are not legally allowed to stay in the United States. “Borders are not open,” he said earlier this week. “People who do not enter the United States using available legal routes now face harsher consequences.”

Title 42, apparently invoked by former President Donald Trump when the COVID-19 pandemic broke out as a way to slow the spread of COVID-19, would force the Trump administration to make immigrants eligible for asylum. can now be exiled more quickly. The plan continued under the Biden administration, which repeatedly sought to end it, but was delayed by legal challenges from Republican state attorneys general.

As the pandemic subsided, the public health order that led to the use of Title 42 was voided, and the U.S. Supreme Court reversed the case. Another government effort to relax the policy was blocked by a federal judge in Louisiana.

Since it was lifted, the government has reverted to the previous immigration laws that fall under Title VIII of the United States Code.

Border guards can bypass asylum procedures, allowing people to be deported more quickly under Article 42, while migrants are exempt from the penalties imposed under Article 8. – Entering the country illegally after deportation or deportation. Also, deported people are prohibited from re-entering the country for five years, even if legally. If caught re-entering the country, he could face felonies, imprisonment, and a lengthy re-entry ban.