SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Title 42 has officially expired and Sacramento based immigrant advocacy groups and attorneys are preparing for an influx of immigrants coming to Northern California.
Title 42 is a pandemic-era immigration policy ordered under the Trump administration authorizing U.S. customs and border protection to remove migrants trying to enter the U.S. at land borders.
"People who have been rejected over the last two years are now going to want to enter the US, finally, and exert their rights for protection under US asylum law,” said Otis Landerholm, Attorney with Landerholm Immigration, A.P.C.
Now, one day after the policy has expired, Sacramento organizations and immigration attorneys are working to prepare resources and services as people may head north.
Moona Siddiqui, with the Sacramento Valley/Central California office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, says the end of Title 42 is a step in the right direction.
The nonprofit civil rights and advocacy group she works with provides immigration legal services, something the organization has assisted with before during the Afghan crisis that began a couple years ago.
"We were informed that Sacramento County in particular was the largest hub for Afghan recent arrivals and parolees and refugees and I think we had to put a pause on acceptance of these refugees because we had so many coming into our area in particular. Ours was the largest in all of California,” said Siddiqui. “We're expecting a big influx of immigrants crossing the border.”
With this expected influx, she says there may be some challenges.
"I think that just means that we're facing a large population of people coming into the country and so our resources are going to be put to the brink a little bit, in terms of how we manage these folks, in terms of housing them, providing resources for them, especially providing legal resources for them,” said Siddiqui.
The Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services says they plan to offer food and free legal assistance to migrants seeking a path to citizenship.
What is Title 42?
The order authorized the U.S. Customs and Border Protection to immediately remove migrants, including people seeking asylum, seeking entry into the U.S. at the land borders.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued the order under the Trump administration in March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to data from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. officials turned away migrants more than 2.8 million times under Title 42 since the policy began.
The order is ending because the Biden administration announced an end to the COVID-19 public health emergency.
The lifting of the Title 42 order does not mean the border is open. According to the U.S. Homeland Security, the U.S. will return to using Title 8 immigration authorities "to expeditiously process and remove individuals who arrive at the U.S. border unlawfully." The law outlines processes for deportation and carries strict penalties, including five and 10-year bans on reentry for people deported.
