US ends public health order limiting asylum at border

Washington, April 2

The US government will end a public health order that has limited asylum at the border, which was introduced after the Covid-19 outbreak in 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced.

A termination of the policy, known as Title 42, will be implemented on May 23, Xinhua news agency quoted the CDC as saying in a statement on Friday.

"After considering current public health conditions and an increased availability of tools to fight Covid-19, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky has determined that an order suspending the right to introduce migrants into the US is no longer necessary."

The White House has stated that most of those who cross the border will not be able to remain in the US, even with the lifting of Title 42.

"To be clear, most individuals who crossed the border without legal authorization will be promptly placed into removal proceedings and if they are unable to establish a legal basis to remain in the US, they'll be expeditiously removed," White House communications director Kate Bedingfield had told reporters on Thursday.

Named for a 1940s public health law, Title 42 has allowed US border officials to rapidly expel migrants without allowing them to apply for asylum.

While most recently enacted by the previous US administration, Title 42 has reportedly been used roughly 1.7 million times by the current federal authorities.

Crossings at the southwest border of the US have been peaking in recent weeks, and homeland security officials were said to have been bracing for those numbers to rise higher with the rescission of Title 42.