Arjun Singh, National Review
The number of migrants apprehended along the Southern Border rose to another record high in April, according to newly released Department of Homeland Security data.
Customs and Border Patrol stopped 234,088 migrants along the border last month, according to data released by DHS in response to a lawsuit. This figure is the highest recorded number in the history of the Department, and is a 5.8 percent increase from March, which itself broke the previous record that was set in July of 2021, when 213,953 migrants were apprehended.
Of those apprehended, around 96,908 were summarily expelled under Title 42, a pandemic-era public health measure. While the largest numbers were recorded in the Rio Grande Valley and Del Rio Sectors of Texas, where upwards of 40,000 migrants each were apprehended, the most expulsions occurred in the Tucson Sector in Arizona, where 18,678 were removed.
However, over 110,207 aliens were released into the country, with 88,542 being “paroled” – i.e., granted temporary legal status – under the Immigration and Nationality Act. Many will be eligible for Employment Authorization Documents, i.e., U.S. work permits, after a period of residency.
Drawn from Section 319 of the Public Health Service Act, a 1944 law, Title 42 has been used frequently during the Covid-19 pandemic to remove migrants who enter the U.S. illegally. Tuesday’s data comes as Judge Robert Summerhays of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana prepares to rule on Louisiana v. CDC within 48 hours, a suit brought to block the Biden Administration from ending Title 42 expulsions this month.
A broad and bipartisan group of lawmakers, immigration experts, and CBP veterans have warned that ending Title 42 would lead to a “deluge” of illegal immigration. These include many allies of the Administration, notably Senator Chris Coons (D., Del.), who occupies Biden’s former Senate seat. Late last month, Theresa Cardinal Brown of the Bipartisan Policy Center said that Title 42 had become the “primary tool” of controlling illegal immigration along the Southern Border.
Read more at National Review.
