WASHINGTON (NewsNation) — U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas plans to visit the U.S.-Mexico border ahead of the expiration of the pandemic-era health policy, Title 42.
Mayorkas is expected to visit Texas’ Rio Grande Valley on Thursday and Friday, “to review CBP and ICE planning and response operations ahead of the lifting of the Title 42 public health Order,” according to his office. He also plans to meet with DHS staff, local officials and law enforcement partners.
Mayorkas’ visit comes as the Biden administration braces for a spike in illegal border crossings and a massive influx of migrants.
The Department of Defense announced Thursday that the Biden administration will deploy 1,500 U.S. troops to the southern border for 90 days to provide support to U.S. immigration authorities.
The White House also announced a further partnership with Mexico, including deporting some non-Mexcian migrants.
Mexico has agreed to accept 30,000 migrants a month to alleviate the number of migrants wanting to come into the U.S., escaping terrible conditions in countries like Venezuela, Haiti, Cuba, Nicaragua and Guatemala.
The Biden administration has also stiffened penalties for illegal entry, including expedited removal, which can carry a five-year reentry ban and even criminal prosecution. They’ve also added migrant processing centers in Latin America starting with Colombia and Guatemala to process migrants there rather than at the U.S. border.
“I don’t have any numbers to share for you at this time. We don’t have a kind of speculation or hypotheticals of what will happen once Title 42 lifts,” said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. We just know that we are preparing for that — for that to occur on May 11th, and we’ll continue to do that.”
Some of the criticism from the White House is that Republicans refuse to put a plan forward.
That will change next week, as House Republicans are expected to vote on their “Secure Border Act of 2023.” That plan proposes restarting the construction of the border wall.
Meanwhile, Republicans on Capitol Hill say Biden is being too lax on immigration policies.
Title 42 was put into place in March 2020 as a way to turn away migrants at the border seeking asylum in the name of public health concerns. Since then, border agents have denied entry to millions of migrants. It’s set to expire on May 11.