May 12, 2023 Latest from the border after Title 42’s expiration

New York City plans to use a Coney Island elementary school’s detached gym building to temporarily house some of the asylum seekers expected to arrive in the city, an NY Department of Education official told CNN on Friday. 

The standalone gym at the Michael E. Berdy School for the Arts, or PS 188, will be used on a temporary basis, as the building is not connected to the school and is not currently being used, the DOE official said.

The gym has a capacity of housing 100 individuals but no one is currently at the location, New York City Councilmember Justin Brannan told CNN. It’s unclear whether the facility will be used to house migrant single men or children and families, Brannan added. 

In a statement Friday, Brooklyn Community Board 13 said the borough “was given no advance notice” that the school was going to be used to house asylum seekers.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams said the city is working on opening respite centers and emergency shelters every day but noted it is running out of space.

“We will continue to communicate with local elected officials as we open more emergency sites,” Adams said in a statement, according to his spokesperson Fabien Levy.

CNN’s Nicki Brown contributed reporting.

Another federal judge is being asked to stop Customs and Border Protection (CBP) from using a new policy that releases migrants without a court notice or formal charges if Border Patrol facilities get too crowded.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton argued in a motion Friday that the policy, known as Parole with Conditions, “was adopted without the required procedures” and “without considering all the relevant facts, and contradicts the governing law.”

A federal judge in Florida already put the policy on hold Thursday, issuing a temporary restraining order until a hearing can take place. Friday’s motion was added to an ongoing lawsuit on border policy filed in Texas by Republican attorneys general in 21 states, including Florida.

In response to the Florida order, US Assistant Secretary for Border and Immigration Policy Blas Nuñez-Neto said Friday morning that the ruling “will result in unsafe overcrowding at CBP facilities and undercut our ability to efficiently process and remove migrants, which will risk creating dangerous conditions for Border Patrol agents as well as non-citizens in our custody.”

The Department of Homeland Security argued that the law allows CBP to parole immigrants “for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit.”

The Parole with Conditions policy, issued in a memorandum Wednesday, allows Border Patrol to release migrants without formal charges under certain conditions following a health and criminal background assessment. The migrant is then required to schedule a formal immigration hearing within 60 days.

Mary Kay Mallonee contributed to this report.

President Joe Biden speaks to reporter\ in the Oval Office on Friday, May 12.

President Joe Biden is coming under sustained pressure from both sides of the aisle over the administration’s handling of the expiration of Title 42, the controversial Trump-era pandemic public health restriction that became a key tool to turn back migrants at the US-Mexico border.

Biden faces the difficult task of showing he can control the border and handle an anticipated influx of migrants humanely, while navigating continued criticism from both Republicans and Democrats:

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, an Arizona independent, railed on the Biden administration over its handling of the policy’s expiration, calling for passage of her bill to give the administration new expulsion authority at the border.

Sen. Joe Manchin, a moderate West Virginia Democrat, expressed frustration about the administration being unable to come up with a “viable solution to prevent an unmanageable surge of migrants at our southern border.”

Nevada Democratic Sens. Jacky Rosen and Catherine Cortez Masto, as well as Nevada Democratic Rep. Susie Lee, sent a letter to the president on Wednesday expressing “strong concerns that the federal government is still insufficiently prepared for the reality that Title 42 is coming to an end.”

Rep. Henry Cuellar, a moderate Texas Democrat, was also critical of Biden’s shift in approach to the border issue, recently telling Politico, “Politically, now the president’s trying to move to the center when it comes to immigration policies – I think a little bit too late, but they’re moving to the center now.”

The end of Title 42 has also remained a target of intense criticism by conservatives.

In a news conference Monday morning, Texas GOP Gov. Greg Abbott likened the expiration of Title 42 as the laying out of a welcome mat to migrants across the world, signaling America’s borders are wide open.

Texas Republican Rep. Pete Sessions compared the current migrant situation to the US military’s chaotic and deadly withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.

Read more:

John Kirby, the National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications, speaks with CNN about the ending of Title 42.

The White House hit back at criticism from Congressional Republicans over the administration’s handling of the southern border Friday, dismissing comparisons to the deadly withdrawal from Afghanistan.

John Kirby, the National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications, was asked about comments made earlier to CNN on Friday from Texas Rep. Pete Session. The Republican politician called the expiration of Title 42 “as chaotic as Afghanistan.” 

Kirby said the administration was doing everything it could “strike the right balance” between providing legal pathways into the country alongside enforcing border laws.  

When Tapper mentioned the border security bill passed on Thursday by House Republicans, Kirby responded: “Yeah, they waited until yesterday to put something forward, and it’s obviously not going to go anywhere because it doesn’t provide for the same sorts of safe legal pathways that the president is trying to provide for with the tools, the limited tools that he has available to him.”

Kirby described the recent death of a Honduran minor at a Florida shelter while in the care of Health and Human Services (HHS) as heartbreaking.

Tents are seen at Anzalduas Park near the Rio Grande as officials process migrants coming through the Texas-Mexico border, Friday, May 12,in McAllen, Texas.

The Texas border city of McAllen has seen fewer migrants than it was expecting on the first day following the expiration of Title 42, the mayor said Friday.

“It’s not the numbers we initially expected, and we hope it keeps that way,” Mayor Javier Villalobos said.

McAllen is located across the border from Reynosa, Mexico. 

The city opened a processing and shelter facility at Anzalduas Park, and Villalobos said so far about 1,200 migrants are there, well below the number they can safely hold. He said the city will have the capacity to take in up to 5,000 migrants in the next few days.

Villalobos added that so far, all expenses they have incurred have been covered by federal grants and state assistance. 

Some Republican members of Congress have criticized the effort to simplify the processing of migrants at border crossings, saying it only encourages more illegal immigration. But Villalobos said it’s better for everyone for operations at the border to be as predictable as possible.

“If something’s going to happen, we want it to be orderly and we want it to be legal,” Villalobos said.

The state of New York is asking the federal government for assistance with constructing and operating temporary shelters “in anticipation of several thousand asylum seekers arriving in New York City every week.”

Gov. Kathy Hochul wrote in a letter to President Biden that the use of all available space “in and across the Northeast,” including military land, is necessary to “maintain critical and essential public services, specifically sheltering and housing.”

She also said New York City has exceeded its shelter system capacity and New York state “lacks the infrastructure, facilities, and resources necessary to meet the immediate demand to house and meet other basic needs of the large numbers of migrant arrivals.”

CNN has reached out to the White House for comment. 

The governor also said in a statement that she and a bipartisan delegation will continue urging Biden to allow asylum seekers the ability to work legally, “so they can join the workforce and become active participants in our communities.” 

As of Tuesday night, more than 65,000 asylum seekers have been processed through New York City’s intake system and 39,400 asylum seekers are currently in the care of the city, according to Fabien Levy, spokesman for New York City Mayor Eric Adams. 

CNN’s Arlette Saenz contributed reporting to this post.

As seen from an aerial view, immigrants line up to be processed by U.S. Border Patrol agents at the U.S.-Mexico border on May 12 in El Paso, Texas. 

El Paso, Texas, has seen far fewer migrants coming into the city compared to last week following the expiration of Title 42, according to Mayor Oscar Leeser, and the area has not seen “any additional big numbers come in” since yesterday’s spike.

Leeser noted that the city has one of its two shelters in operation, and added that it was being used to shelter 150 people and limited to families only. He noted that single males and single females were staying at hotels. 

“We did see a spike in the last week or so and after yesterday’s spike at about 1,800 that came in yesterday, we’ve not seen any additional big numbers come in to the El Paso sector and to the El Paso area,” the mayor said. “We’ll continue to make sure everybody’s treated with respect.” 

Despite the decrease in asylum seekers this week, Leeser said the city is still preparing for the unknown due to the uncertainty of the immigration process. 

El Paso’s Office of Emergency Management coordinator Jorge Rodriguez said the city has not started chartering asylum seekers, while Mayor Leeser insisted the city remains committed to helping them reach their final destination.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks to guests at the Republican Party of Marathon County Lincoln Day Dinner annual fundraiser on May 6.

On the heels of Title 42’s expiration, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said the US-Mexico border “should be shut down.”

DeSantis, who is expected to launch a bid for the White House, spelled out how he would crack down on immigration if he were president, calling it a “day-one issue.”

In addition to constructing a border wall, DeSantis said he would send migrants who cross the border illegally back to their home country. He added that those with valid asylum claims should “wait in Mexico.” 

“We would not entertain any of these bogus asylum claims at the border,” said DeSantis, speaking at a news conference in Fort Myers. Florida.

His remarks come just days after he signed a sweeping crackdown on unlawful immigration designed to deter undocumented individuals from showing up in his state. 

The Biden administration is rolling out a policy that includes a new asylum rule that will largely prevent migrants from seeking asylum in the US if they passed through another country. 

DeSantis also attacked Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador for his handling of the border.

“He’s got a disaster on his hands,” DeSantis said. “What kind of a country just allows people by the millions to just traverse through like that?”

Speaking more broadly, DeSantis said he believes immigration into the US is not a right afforded to any foreigner. 

“It’s important to just validate that idea that we actually do as Americans control our immigration system,” he added. 

Immigrants seeking asylum in the United States are processed by Border Patrol agents after crossing into Arizona from Mexico on May 11.

A federal judge late Thursday night temporarily blocked one of the Biden’s administration’s key tools to try to manage the number of migrants in US Customs and Border Protection custody.

The ruling came just before Title 42 expired, and administration officials say it will make their job more difficult amid the expected influx of migrants at the US-Mexico border. An appeal is expected.

Here are key things to know:

Policy on releasing migrants: The plan, released Wednesday, allowed the release of migrants from CBP custody without court dates, or, in some cases, releasing them with conditions. As number of migrants increases at the border, the Department of Homeland Security said its plan would help release the immense strain on already overcrowded border facilities. As of Wednesday, there were more than 28,000 migrants in Border Patrol custody, stretching capacity.

The administration previously released migrants without court dates when facing a surge of migrants after they’re screened and vetted by authorities. The plan would have allowed DHS to release migrants on “parole” on a case-by-case basis and require them to check in with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Florida sues: Florida sued to halt the policy, and District Judge T. Kent Wetherell, agreed to block the plan for two weeks. Wetherell, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, said the administration’s explanation for why its policy was only unveiled on Wednesday, when the end of Title 42 was anticipated for months, was lacking. He also said the Biden administration simply failed to prepare.

How has the administration reacted? Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, speaking on “CNN This Morning,” called the ruling “very harmful” and said the administration is considering its options.

Assistant secretary for border and immigration policy Blas Nuñez-Neto said the ruling “will result in unsafe overcrowding at CBP facilities and undercut our ability to efficiently process and remove migrants, which will risk creating dangerous conditions for Border Patrol agents as well as non-citizens in our custody.”

What’s next? Wetherell’s ruling will block the policy for two weeks. A preliminary injunction hearing has been scheduled for May 19.

A migrant looks on as he waits to get off a bus at a processing center on May 11 in Brownsville, Texas. 

Team Brownsville, the main nonprofit that assists migrants upon their arrival in the Texas border city, told CNN that there has been only one humanitarian parole dropoff of migrants by a Border Patrol bus Friday — which is fewer than they had at this same time on Thursday.

Thursday did see a slight increase in migrant arrivals from previous days, according to Team Brownsville cofounder Mike Benavides.

There were a total of 1,033 migrants processed by Team Brownsville on Thursday, which included 960 adults and 73 children, according to the nonprofit.

She added that the nonprofit will continue doing everything in its power to be the face and voice of welcome for asylum-seekers.

Migrants look over a fence as they try to locate family members and friends that arrived at a processing center in Brownsville, Texas, on May 11. 

The US government is in the process of setting up regional processing centers, which it hopes will become operational in the coming weeks, according to the State Department.

The centers “will make it easier for migrants to access lawful pathways from where they are and help them avoid putting their lives and their life savings in the hands of criminal actors,” said Cheryl Fernandes of the department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration. 

Fernandes noted the launch by international partners on Thursday of MovilidadSegura.org, a website where people can find information on processes that will be available via the centers.

“This is an important step toward operationalizing,” she told reporters on a call Friday. “Once operational, migrants will be able to use this site to request appointments for pre-screening. The site will also be updated to provide information on regular pathways to Spain and Canada that will be accessible through the initiative in the future.”

Both the site and services provided through the centers are free, she said.

Fernandes said there would be a phased rollout of the centers, and she did not have information about how many appointments there would be on the first day.

There was no “substantial increase overnight or an influx at midnight” of migrants across the southern border following the lifting of Title 42, a top Department of Homeland Security official said Friday.

Nuñez-Neto reiterated that the US government has tens of thousands of border patrol agents and officers, and has surged thousands of law enforcement personnel and contractors to the border.

New, strict policy measures from the Biden administration following the lifting of Title 42 will go into effect this week.

Migrants who pass through another country will be largely barred from seeking asylum in the US. The rule, proposed earlier this year, will presume migrants are ineligible for asylum in the US if they didn’t first seek refuge in a country they transited through, like Mexico, on the way to the border. Migrants who secure an appointment through the CBP One app will be exempt, according to officials.

If migrants are found ineligible for asylum, they could be removed through the speedy deportation process, known as “expedited removal,” that would bar them from the US for five years.

The administration also plans to return Cubans, Venezuelans, Haitians and Nicaraguans to Mexico if they cross the border unlawfully, marking the first time the US has sent non-Mexican nationals back across the border.

The new asylum rule is already facing a legal challenge as the ACLU and other immigrant advocacy groups filed a lawsuit overnight Thursday in an effort to block the policy.

“The Biden administration’s new ban places vulnerable asylum seekers in grave danger and violates U.S. asylum laws. We’ve been down this road before with Trump,” said Katrina Eiland, managing attorney with the ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project, in a statement. “The asylum bans were cruel and illegal then, and nothing has changed now.”

Senior administration officials have stressed the actions are necessary to encourage people to use lawful pathways to come to the US. That includes parole programs for eligible nationalities to apply to enter the US and expanding access to an app for migrants to make an appointment to present themselves at a port of entry.

The advocates’ lawsuit, filed in federal court in the Northern District of California, cites issues with the CBP One app used for scheduling asylum appointments, including some migrants’ lack of resources to get a smartphone and the absence of adequate internet access to use the app, along with language and literacy barriers.

The State Department plans to open about 100 regional processing centers in the Western hemisphere where migrants can apply to come to the US, though the timeline for those is unclear.

On Friday morning, just hours after Title 42 ended, the city of El Paso is providing shelter to 150 migrants, according to the city’s deputy city manager Mario D’Agostino.

D’Agostino said that families are being sheltered at a decommissioned school and single adults are in hotels.

Earlier this week, the city of El Paso announced that a vacant middle school would be on standby to provide shelter to migrants when Title 42 ended.

Issued during the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, Title 42 allowed authorities to swiftly turn away migrants at the US borders, ostensibly to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. But that changed late Thursday when the public health emergency and Title 42 lapsed. Here’s how border crossings could be impacted after the order’s expiration:

Title 8 is back in effect: Title 42 allowed border authorities to swiftly turn away migrants encountered at the US-Mexico border, often depriving migrants of the chance to claim asylum and dramatically cutting down on border processing time. But Title 42 also carried almost no legal consequences for migrants crossing, meaning if they were pushed back, they could try to cross again multiple times.

Now that Title 42 has lifted, the US government is returning to a decades-old section of US code known as Title 8, which Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has warned would carry “more severe” consequences for migrants found to be entering the country without a legal basis.

The Department of Homeland Security has repeatedly stressed in recent months that migrants apprehended under Title 8 authority may face a swift deportation process, known as “expedited removal” – and a ban on reentry for at least five years. Those who make subsequent attempts to enter the US could face criminal prosecution, DHS has said.

But the processing time for Title 8 can be lengthy, posing a steep challenge for authorities facing a high number of border arrests. By comparison, the processing time under Title 42 hovered around 30 minutes because migrants could be quickly expelled, whereas under Title 8, the process can take over an hour.

Title 8 allows for migrants to seek asylum, which can be a lengthy and drawn out process that begins with what’s called a credible-fear screening by asylum officers before migrants’ cases progress through the immigration court system.

Title 8 has continued to be used alongside Title 42 since the latter’s introduction during the Covid-19 pandemic, with more than 1.15 million people apprehended at the southern border under Title 8 in fiscal year 2022, according to US Customs and Border Protection. More than 1.08 million people were expelled under Title 42 at the southern land border during that same period.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will add 5,000 detention beds as it pivots to post-pandemic guidelines, according to an administration official. 

ICE announced late Thursday that it will increase the number of accessible beds by “several thousand” and will eliminate the requirements it perform Covid-19 tests on detainees at intake, transfer, or release.

“ERO is committed to ensuring people in our custody are safe and receive appropriate medical care. As with other communicable diseases, ERO will implement best practices and follow CDC guidance to mitigate risks related to COVID-19,” he added.

A federal judge in Florida temporarily blocked the Biden administration from releasing migrants from Border Patrol without court notices, according to a late Thursday court filing. 

The ruling took effect Thursday at 11:59 p.m. ET to coincide with the end of Title 42, and will expire in 14 days.  

The Biden administration is expected to appeal. For now, the ruling takes away one of the administration’s key tools to try to manage the number of migrants in US Customs and Border Protection custody—in some cases, by releasing them from custody with conditions. 

The Biden administration is preparing to release migrants who are apprehended at the US-Mexico border without court dates amid high border arrests and immense strain on border facilities, according to the Department of Homeland Security. As of Wednesday, there were more than 28,000 migrants in Border Patrol custody, stretching capacity. 

The administration has previously released migrants without court dates when facing a surge of migrants after they’re screened and vetted by authorities. The latest move would release migrants on “parole” on a case-by-case basis and require them to check in with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Some individuals may also be placed in alternative to detention programs. 

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Wednesday it would apply to a “fraction” of the people encountered. 

On Thursday, Florida—which has previously taken issue with the release of migrants from custody—filed an emergency motion asking the court to temporarily block the administration’s plan. 

“The memorandum does not explain how this surge was unexpected or why DHS waited until the day before the Title 42 Order was scheduled to end before issuing the new parole policy,” the ruling reads. 

A preliminary injunction hearing is scheduled for May 19, according to the order.

With tens of thousands of migrants massed in northern Mexico, the expiration overnight of the US Covid-era border restriction policy known as Title 42 has American border communities on edge, worried an already challenging humanitarian crisis will worsen as crossings climb.

The South Texas counties of Cameron and Hidalgo issued disaster declarations ahead of the order’s expiration at 11:59 p.m. ET Thursday to help free up state and federal resources as US troops, agents and other federal workers surged this week toward the southern border to help handle a possible crush.

Still, officials hit a roadblock late Thursday as a federal judge temporarily blocked the Biden administration from releasing screened and vetted migrants from border patrol without court notices – a method it had planned to use to alleviate immense strain on border facilities. The ruling sidelines a tactic used by prior administrations and is “very harmful” in light of potential overcrowding, US Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told CNN on Friday.

Meantime, new rules will limit asylum claims by migrants who traverse other countries en route to the US-Mexico border and closely track migrant families released into the US during the deportation process. The asylum rule, though, quickly drew a lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union and others who said it echoes Trump-era policy, breaks with US and international law and puts vulnerable migrants in harm’s way.

Over the last two days, more than 10,000 migrants daily were taken into custody, US border authorities reported, marking a record for daily encounters and continuing an upward trend in border arrests. And about 155,000 migrants were estimated to be in shelters and on streets across northern Mexican states bordering the US, a source familiar with federal estimates said this week.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said that the Biden administration remains confident in its plan to handle the current crisis and that the government has been taking the necessary steps to prepare. 

And Mayorkas called for more resources from Congress to help the administration handle the current situation and reform the broader immigration system. 

“Really what this situation reflects is the fact that we are operating within very serious constraints. And the two primary constraints are as follows: One, a fundamentally broken immigration system that hasn’t been fixed for more than two decades and we need congress to act. Two, we need Congress to provide us with the resources that we need.”

Mayorkas also criticized a Florida judge’s ruling overnight that blocks the Biden administration from releasing migrants without court notices and reiterated the administration’s tough enforcement message on crossing the border illegally.

“It’s a very harmful ruling and the Department of Justice is considering our options,” Mayorkas told CNN, adding that it’s a practice that prior administrations have used to handle overcrowding in government facilities.

In the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a public health order that officials said aimed to stop the spread of Covid-19. The order allowed authorities to swiftly expel migrants at US land borders.

The policy is widely known as Title 42, for the portion of US code that allowed the CDC director to issue it.

Migrants encountered under Title 42 have been either returned to their home countries or sent back into Mexico. Under the policy, authorities have expelled migrants at the US-Mexico border more than 2.8 million times since the policy began, according to US Customs and Border Protection data.

The policy, which officials have relied on to manage a spiraling situation at the border, expired at 11:59 p.m. ET on Thursday. It’s end comes as the Biden administration is also ending the Covid-19 public health emergency nationally.