The End of Title 42: What It Means to You

Pandemic-era restrictions on admitting asylum seekers into the U.S. will officially end on Thursday, but the effects are already being felt as migrants surge across the southern border.

President Biden's administration is preparing to let border agents release migrants into the U.S. without court dates or the ability to track them, NBC News reported Wednesday, citing three sources familiar with the matter.

The plan was reportedly drawn up after a record 11,000 migrants were caught crossing the border on Tuesday.

“We’re already breaking and we haven’t hit the starting line,” a Department of Homeland Security official told NBC.

That's despite the Biden administration rolling out new rules meant to deter people from trying to sneak into the U.S. -- including reinstating criminal penalties for illegally crossing the border and making it tougher to seek asylum.

About 550 U.S. troops were deployed to the border this week to increase security and free up Customs and Border Protection agents to deal with the expected arrival of as many as 18,000 migrants a day.

Another 900 Marines and airmen are set to arrive later this month.

The end of Title 42 comes as New York City is struggling to house all of its 61,000-plus migrants, with two suburban counties -- Rockland and Orange -- declaring states of emergency to try to prevent some of them from being put in local hotels.

But neighboring Westchester County Executive George Latimer told Politico he was trying to figure out how many migrants his county could handle.

“We understand New York City is in a crisis situation and we’re prepared to be helpful at some level, and everybody will have their own strategies,” he said.  

DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas insisted during a Wednesday news conference that the lifting of Title 42 -- which refers to a section of the US Code that deals with public health -- at 11:59 p.m. on Thursday "does not mean our border is open."

Mayorkas also warned that the change "means tougher consequences for people who cross the border illegally."

But U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, told Fox News on Tuesday night that Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei told him that more than 80,00 migrants, most from Venezuela, were making the way toward the US.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis predicted massive problems during a Wednesday ceremony that marked his signing of a law that provides $12 million to relocate migrants to other states and limits social services for undocumented immigrants, The Associated Press reported.

The potential GOP presidential candidate sparked controversy last year when he sent two planeloads of migrants from Texas to the liberal island enclave of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts.

“We’re bracing for some turbulent times ahead,” DeSantis said. “You’re likely to see it get a lot worse.”

Title 42 allows for the immediate expulsion of migrants to prevent the spread of disease and was used more than 2.8 million times after being implemented at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic under then-President Donald Trump.

Biden announced in January that he would end the public health emergency over the coronavirus, which is now at low transmission levels in 98.6% of counties in the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

COVID-19 has killed more than 1.1 million Americans, including 1,109 during the week that ended May 3, according to the CDC.