On May 11, 2023, Title 42 ends. Title 42 is the Covid-19 public health order that allowed U.S. border officials to limit entry to the U.S., primarily at the southern border. However, this does not signal a return to the status quo. The Biden Administration, in conjunction with world leaders throughout the Western Hemisphere, announced on April 27th that major changes are coming to help curb the expected surge of migrants and mitigate other immigration issues in a historic effort to “expand lawful pathways for protection and facilitate the safe, orderly, and humane processing of migrants”.[1]

In addition to this year’s earlier commitment to accept 30,000 refugees per month from Venezuela, Nicaragua, Cuba, and Haiti, additional thousands will be accepted in an effort to double the number of refugees as part of the Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection (LADMP). And in addition to modernizing the Family Reunification Parole Processes for Cuba and Haiti, new processes will be created for El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Columbia so that vetted individuals with approved family-based petitions can be paroled into the U.S. on a case-by-case basis with eligibility for work authorization.

In an effort to expand lawful pathways, address root causes, and step up enforcement of existing immigration laws so that fewer migrants are putting their lives at risk to arrive directly at the U.S. Southwest border, world leaders – through the LADMP – will commit to manage migration flows by opening regional processing centers (RPCs) wherein appoints made over the phone can be made to visit the nearest RPC before traveling. In this way, they can interview and, if eligible, be quickly processed and immigrate to the U.S., Canada, or Spain. We will see the first RPCs in Colombia and Guatemala, with hopes to quickly spread to other Regional Partners throughout the western hemisphere.

When Title 42 ends and Title 8 returns, it is promising to see that the Biden administration does not intend to return to the status quo. Be sure to follow International Legal and Business Services Group for updates on these and other important immigration topics. Contact us anytime if you have questions about your immigration-related issue.

[1] https://cl.usembassy.gov/u-s-government-announces-sweeping-new-actions-to-manage-regional-migration/

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