Stephen Yale-Loehr

Professor of immigration law

“Title 42, invoked early in the COVID-19 pandemic, allows border officials to turn away migrants at the border without a hearing. A federal court ruled that Title 42 is illegal. While conservative states may ask the Supreme Court to temporarily continue Title 42, that is unlikely to happen.

“People worry that terminating Title 42 will mean more people will try to enter the United States from Mexico. But those pressures existed before the Trump administration invoked Title 42. Climate change, poverty, gang violence, and failed states all contribute to people’s desperation to move. Many countries face this issue, not just the United States.

“The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is sending more officials to the southern border to deal with the expected increase of migrants trying to enter the United States after Title 42 ends. DHS is also speeding up the asylum process. And DHS has authority under our normal immigration laws to quickly deport people who don’t qualify for asylum or who violate our immigration laws, after a hearing.

“These are good first steps. Long-term, Congress needs to enact immigration reform so that people can enter the United States legally to work. And the United States needs to work with other countries on regional efforts to manage migration better.

“Title 42 was arguably unlawful from the beginning. Now that the COVID-19 pandemic has eased, its termination is long overdue. Title 42 is not an effective way to manage migration.”