U.S. border officials say that 234,088 illegal aliens tried to cross the border in April, up from a 22-year high of 221,000 in March.
And the border patrol says things aren’t getting any better this month. NBC News obtained data for the first 10 days in May, when Customs and Border Protection encountered an average of just over 7,400 migrants a day. That pencils out to more than 230,000 for the month.
The April figure is likely to heighten pressure from Republicans and some Democrats on the Biden administration to maintain an anti-Covid public health measure known as Title 42, which has blocked over 1.7 million migrants from staying in the U.S. to seek asylum. Those opposed to lifting the order say doing so could overwhelm an already strained system responsible for processing immigrants, adjudicating their claims and, in some cases, deporting them back to their home countries.
In April, 96,908 of the more than 234,000 migrants were expelled back to Mexico under Title 42. The percentage of migrants being subjected to Title 42 has dropped since the beginning of the order in March 2020, in part because of Mexico’s refusal to take back migrants of certain nationalities and in part because Mexico stops taking in returned migrants whenever its shelters along the border reach capacity.
The Department of Homeland Security says that there are an estimated 170,000 illegals camped just over the border in Mexico waiting for the end of Title 42, which is scheduled for May 23. While that date is still the Biden administration’s target, a federal judge will decide this week if the administration can go forward with its plans to lift Title 42 restrictions.
US District Judge Robert Summerhays heard arguments Friday on a lawsuit filed in April by two dozen Republican state attorneys general who seek to block the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from ending the policy on May 23.
After the hearing in Louisiana, the judge said he would issue an opinion before the order is scheduled to lapse.
Summerhays, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, issued a temporary restraining order last month preventing the Biden administration from lifting the restrictions before he makes a ruling.
With COVID-19 cases rising nationwide. Summerhays could have a ready-made excuse to keep the Title 42 restrictions in place. After all, Title 42 is a public health rule designed to limit the spread of the coronavirus. Lifting it would certainly contribute to its spread.
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