Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said the U.S. law known as Title 42 that allows the federal government to take emergency action to keep out people spreading communicable disease will be enforced through Dec. 20.
Mayorkas released an update Dec. 13 on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s plan to “prepare for and manage the lifting of the Title 42 public health order.”
“Economic and political instability around the world is fueling the highest levels of migration since World War II, including throughout the western hemisphere. The surge in global migration is testing many nations’ systems, including our own,” Mayorkas said in the update. “The Title 42 public health order remains in place through Dec. 20, and until then, DHS will continue to expel single adults and families encountered at the southwest border under that authority.”
Mayorkas reported DHS will process individuals without proper travel documentation at the borders with its longstanding Title 8 authorities once Title 42 is is lifted. This will "provide for meaningful consequences, including barring individuals who are removed from re-entry for five years," the update reported.
Consequences can include expedited removal, "which allows DHS to quickly repatriate individuals who do not have a legal basis to stay in the United States," according to the update.
