U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has experienced a significant decrease in the number of people held in its custody, as well as in migrant encounters, since Title 42 was lifted. According to Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), the number of asylum seekers detained by ICE has decreased compared with May 2019, falling from approximately 40,000 to 27,330 by the end of May. Of the total number of detainees, 61% had no criminal record.
Most detainees are located in Texas, with nearly 10,000 in custody. ICE detention centers in Pearsall and Dilley, Texas, each have more than 1,200 migrants in custody. Other detention centers, including the Otay Mesa facility in San Diego and the facility in El Paso, also house detainees.
Title 42, a policy implemented during the pandemic to prevent the spread of COVID-19, prevented immigrants from seeking asylum at the U.S. border. However, the Biden administration lifted this policy on May 11 and replaced it with removal orders under Title 8.
Under Title 8, asylum seekers must complete interviews using the CBP One app at ports of entry along the southwestern border. They may also request interviews at processing centers opened by the U.S. Department of State in countries throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, in coordination with the United Nations. In addition, asylum seekers are required to seek protection in the first countries they pass through before reaching the United States.
Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Blas Núñez-Neto stated that there has been a significant decline in encounters at the border since Title 42 was lifted. He also warned that migrants who are removed for failing to meet the requirements to seek humanitarian parole in the United States must wait five years before attempting to cross again. If they attempt to enter before that period has passed, they could face criminal prosecution and a possible 20-year ban on entry.
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