U.S. planning to end COVID-era order blocking migrants at Mexico border by May 23

FILE PHOTO: Migrants are detained by U.S. Border Patrol agents after crossing the Rio Bravo river to turn themselves in to request for asylum in El Paso, Texas, U.S., as seen from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, February 24, 2022. REUTERS/Jose Luis Gonzalez

March 30, 2022

By Ted Hesson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United States is planning to end a COVID-era order blocking asylum seekers and other migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border by May 23, a U.S. official told Reuters.

The decision has not yet been finalized, the official said.

The order, known as Title 42, was put in place in March 2020 during the administration of former Republican President Donald Trump to curb the spread of coronavirus in crowded border facilities. Since then, more than a million migrants apprehended at the border have been rapidly expelled to Mexico or other countries, often within hours of being caught.

The sweeping, pandemic-related expulsion policy has effectively closed down the U.S. asylum system at the border with Mexico. Leading Democrats, medical experts and the United Nations have urged the United States to end it, but Republicans argue it will encourage more migrants to enter illegally.

The delayed effective date to end Title 42 would give U.S. border authorities time to plan for its end, the official said.

(Reporting by Ted Hesson in Washington; Editing by Mica RosenbergEditing by Chris Reese)

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