WATCH: Illegal Aliens Stream Over Border Ahead of Title 42’s End
Mary Margaret Olohan / Tyler O'Neil /
EL PASO, Texas—In the waning hours of Title 42, the public health measure that enabled Border Patrol to expel illegal aliens from the border, The Daily Signal’s Mary Margaret Olohan and Tim Kennedy traveled to El Paso, Texas, and captured footage of comparative calm before the expected storm.
A Border Patrol agent told The Daily Signal that the El Paso sector has two processing centers, each set up with a capacity to house about 1,000 people, and officials intend to set up a third center by the end of June.
The agent said the average number of migrants crossing the border dropped from about 1,400 a day in April to just under 1,150 a day in May, but Border Patrol expects the number to increase after Title 42 ends.
The end of Title 42 will also bring more paperwork. Under the public health measure, implemented from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance during the COVID-19 pandemic, Border Patrol could immediately expel illegal immigrants, but without Title 42, each migrant will receive an alien registration number, creating a new case with its own paperwork.
The agent said that various parts of the Department of Homeland Security have collaborated with Border Patrol in a whole-of-government approach to prepare for the expected onslaught of migrants.
Throughout the day, The Daily Signal witnessed immigrants crossing the border in large numbers.
Drone footage captured law enforcement rounding up migrants after they crossed the border illegally.
Illegal immigrants crossed the border at gates, after which Border Patrol took them into custody.
Agents erected barbed wire along the border in river areas, to deter illegal crossings.
Their preparations appeared to be a calm before the storm, as authorities expect a large influx of migrants after Title 42 expires.
Authorities cleared an area where migrants had been congregating, urging the migrants to turn themselves in before Title 42 expires.
Follow The Daily Signal, Mary Margaret Olohan, and Tim Kennedy on Twitter for live updates.
Mary Margaret Olohan reported from El Paso and Tyler O’Neil reported from Washington.
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