Title 42 is a law that dates back to 1944, emerging first in the Public Health Act. Under Title 42, United States governmental agencies can remove immigrants from countries like Mexico and have recently been able to “blame” this on the Covid-19 pandemic. Title 42 provides the government with a blank check to restrict entry at the border during a public health emergency. 

Since the creation of Title 42, almost 3 million people have been ejected from US territories. However, as of April 2022, the US Centers for Disease Control announced the end to this policy. The United States, as of May 11, when Title 42 expired, is planned to return to Title 8, a law which facilitates deportations. In the days leading up to May 11, there were over 10,000 arrivals to the United States each day, according to BBC news. 

In order to ensure American safety and liberty, around 24,000 law enforcement officers were deployed around the United States border as May 11 approached. As both Americans and immigrants prepare for Title 8, there is significant change that many must prepare for. Title 8 calls for more leniency in requesting asylum as an immigrant, while deportations and cases in immigration court seem more likely. Like most issues in America, factions have arisen over this issue. Many Republican state leaders in states like North Carolina and Arizona are attempting to keep Title 42 in place, by providing sentiments extremely similar to Title 42. 

What does this mean for immigrants now? U.S. asylum law under Title 8 gives migrants the legal right to request asylum if they are on American soil, no matter if they entered the country legally or illegally. The policy of "expedited removal" proceedings, a faster deportation process where migrants can be deported on a quicker spectrum eliminating court time, will soon come to fruition.