Border Patrol not using Title 42 to expel some Northern Triangle migrants ahead of its May 23 end: sources

Border Patrol has already stopped using the Title 42 public health order to remove migrants from the Northern Triangle countries of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, more than a month before the Biden administration has said the order will be lifted altogether.

Multiple Border Patrol sources, including National Border Patrol Council President Brandon Judd, told Fox News Digital that the law enforcement agency has stopped enforcing Title 42 on migrants from Northern Triangle countries, and is instead processing them via Title 8 and expedited removal.

WHITE HOUSE DEFENDS TITLE 42 TERMINATION AS ‘RETURN’ TO IMMIGRATION ‘STANDARD’ AS MORE DEMS BUCK BIDEN

Expedited removal allows authorities to quickly remove a migrant without a hearing if they have recently entered the U.S. illegally. However, the sources told Fox that if a migrant claims they have a fear of persecution, the removal order is changed to a Notice to Appear — meaning they are released into the United States with a future court date. They said that migrants are already spreading the word about what to say to get released into the U.S.

The Biden administration announced this month that it will end the order on May 23. The order was implemented by the Trump administration due to the outbreak of COVID-19 and has since been used by both the Trump and Biden administrations to expel a majority of migrants at the border. While it is a public health order, not an immigration policy, it has become one of the central border policies in place as the U.S. faces a continuing crisis of numbers at the border.

It sparked fears from both Republicans and moderate Democrats that ending the order will lead to an overwhelming surge of migrants at the border, as migrants realize that they will most likely be allowed into the U.S. while their cases are heard. The Biden administration has said it is preparing for up to 18,000 migrants a day. Agents are currently facing an influx of between 7,000 and 8,000 migrants a day.

SEN. KELLY SAYS BIDEN ADMIN DOESNT HAVE PLAN IN PLACE FOR LIFTING TITLE 42: ‘IT’S GOING TO BE A CRISIS’

One agent told Fox News Digital that they believe that the limiting of Title 42, now being applied almost solely to Mexican nationals, is being done to “provide cover for the Biden administration.”

“If it goes bad it is Border Patrol’s fault. If we minimize the traffic by May 23, the Biden admin can claim success and tout ‘see it wasn’t as bad as those right wingers said.'”

There has already been massively increased traffic at the border, with more than 220,000 migrants arriving in March — 50% of whom were expelled under Title 42. This number does not include those who got past overwhelmed Border Patrol agents.

With political pressure growing in Washington, there is currently bipartisan legislation introduced in Congress that would extend the order by 60 days and require the Department of Homeland Security to come up with a comprehensive plan for how to deal with the resultant surge at the border.

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“I warned the administration about this months and months ago, and they still don’t have an adequate plan. They say they are working on it. My guess is that we’ll get to May 23, there probably is not going to be an adequate plan in place and, if that’s the case, I don’t think we should lift Title 42,” Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., told Fox News Digital last week.

Meanwhile, multiple Republican states are suing to stop the order from being repealed, warning of a “self-inflicted catastrophe” if the Biden administration goes ahead with it.