Title 42, a public health statute that allowed the U.S. to swiftly expel migrants who crossed the border with Mexico during the COVID-19 pandemic, is set to lift at 8:59 p.m. PST on Thursday.
The decades-old statute was invoked by the Trump administration in March 2020 at the start of the pandemic. With the country’s COVID-19 health emergency set to expire under the Biden administration, so will the Title 42 orders.
Officials expect a significant increase in migrant arrivals along the U.S.-Mexico border in the coming days.