U.S. homeland chief warns of strain if migration surges
WASHINGTON » The U.S. immigration system would come under intense pressure if the end of a fasttrack deportation policy triggers a surge of as many as 18,000 migrants at the southern border, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Sunday.
“There is no question that if in fact we reach that number, that is going to be an extraordinary strain on our system,” Mayorkas said on CNN’S “State of the Union.” “But we are preparing for it.”
His comments come as the administration prepares to end on May 23 a public health policy known as Title 42 that has allowed the speedy expulsion of asylum-seekers and other migrants since March 2020 over coronavirus concerns.
Some Democrats in the Senate and House, including those in close reelection races this fall, have joined with Republicans to call for the policy to be extended and for a detailed plan for how the Department of Homeland Security would deal with an anticipated influx of newcomers.
The department’s contingency plans contemplate a spike in arrivals, potentially as many as 18,000 per day — a surge Mayorkas said would tax the agency despite efforts to be “ready for anything.”
“We’ve been planning since September of 2021 for the eventual end of Title 42,” Mayorkas said on “Fox News Sunday.” One of the pillars of that plan “is to work with our partners to the south and really ensure that they manage their respective borders, because the challenge of migration is not exclusive to the United States,” he said.