On Thursday, May 11, the Title 42 policy in the United States will come to an end. The measure was implemented in 2020 by former President Donald Trump to quickly deport migrants without the possibility of asylum, with the aim of "preventing" the spread of COVID-19.

With the end of Title 42, US authorities have indicated that a massive influx of migrants is expected. But what is behind the increase? Inés Barrios, coordinator of the College of the Northern Border, explained that many migrants believe that with the end of Title 42, the US will open its doors to them. Likewise, several people from certain states in the US have been fleeing.

However, when the norm expires, a more severe order will come into effect: Title 8. With this measure, US authorities will be able to bring criminal charges against migrants and impose bans of up to five years on entering US territory.

• Another possible scenario is prolonged detention and formal deportations.

• In all cases, authorities will have to process migrants, which implies keeping a large number of people in custody, a situation that could generate overcrowding conditions in detention centers.

What's next?

The US Congress is working on a bill to create a "temporary expulsion" instrument similar to Title 42 for automatic deportations.

• The Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) has denounced that these measures make migrants victims of assaults, robberies, kidnappings, and other human rights violations.

In addition, experts predict that this situation could lead to hundreds of dead migrants.

Miguel Tinker Salas, a professor at Pomona College, mentioned to a media outlet that "The situation is already tragic; we saw it recently in Brownsville, Texas, and in multiple cases where migrants have perished on their journey to the United States."

It is estimated that in the border cities with Mexico, there are more than 150,000 migrants waiting for the end of Title 42, hoping they can pass into the United States. Although they will now have to reapply at processing centers, which could take years of waiting.

"Biden's idea of having those centers is only to sacrifice them to an immigration policy that doesn't work," Tinker Salas added. "In this, Biden is no different from Trump."

In addition, several videos have been circulating on social media showing farming areas, constructions, and fieldwork in Florida that were mainly worked by immigrants, are now completely paralyzed and deserted, and there is no one to replace those workers.