Title 42 is a health regulation, not an immigration law. However, over the last two-and-a-half years, it was used to keep immigrants from coming into America across the Mexican border.
They waited to board a bus with all their belongings, which for many, consisted only of the blue tote bag they just received from the community services group, with essentials like socks, a comb and a razor. A little kid, maybe 5 or 6 years old, played with a brand-new box of crayons as his mother talked with one of the volunteers in Spanish.
The number of people coming through Casa Alitas has gone up in recent months. It could get much more chaotic after Dec. 21, when Title 42 – which has been used throughout the pandemic to turn people away at the border – is scheduled to expire. The looming end of Title 42 has set immigrant aid groups, local governments and federal agencies on the border rushing to prepare for an expected influx of people. It has exposed a gap in the response to immigration, as nongovernmental organizations get ready to bear the brunt of the responsibility of caring for immigrants and asylum seekers after they are released by CBP.
The rise in encounters comes amid a decline in staff numbers in the Tucson Sector, according to Steve Mahoney, the executive officer of operations. There are currently roughly 3,200 agents and officers, a 24% drop in the last decade. The plan was put into place in spring and remains active, said John Mennell, a CBP spokesman in Arizona.
Nicholls remembers one three-day period, in particular, when 5,000 to 6,000 people came across the border into his small town. Border Patrol was “overwhelmed” and started releasing people into the community, he said. Nicholls has been asking for federal planning and support, but says it has not yet materialized in a meaningful way.
“We are fully responsible for their care, their feeding, whatever happens to them while they are in our custody. CBP wants to get everybody out of our custody as rapidly as possible, whether it’s to a state law enforcement agency, another federal law enforcement agency, Enforcement and Removal Operations, back to Mexico, whatever,” he said.
In September, the number of people coming through the welcome center at Casa Alitas hit a high of 400 to 450 people a day, according to local news reports, 50% more than the typical intake. There is federal money available to help NGOs respond to the increase in people coming across the border. The 2022 budget included $150 million for groups providing humanitarian assistance to migrants through the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Emergency Food and Shelter Program. Piña Lopez said Casa Alitas gets some of that money.
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