Situation on the US-Mexico border remains "chaotic" after ruling on Title 42

To whom does Title 42 apply and how does it affect them?

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(CNN) --

The situation for migrants waiting at the US-Mexico border is chaotic following the Supreme Court's decision to uphold Title 42, which allows federal officials to expel migrants quickly under a restraining order. public health.

• What is Title 42?

  A border policy that allows quick deportation and generates debate

In Matamoros, Mexico, across the border from the Rio Grande Valley in south Texas, an immigration advocate says between 1,500 and 2,000 migrants continue to occupy a makeshift camp.

“The situation is chaotic,” said Glady Edith Cañas.

“The migrants are desperate.”

Cañas runs “Ayudandos a Triunfar”, a non-profit organization in Matamoros, and says that the collective stress level of the migrants in the camp is very high because they want to enter the US legally, but with Title 42 in force. They can't find a way to do it.

• Some 22,000 migrants wait in shelters and makeshift camps in three cities in Mexico for Title 42 to be lifted

Some migrants even began lining up at the port of entry on Tuesday, when Title 42 was expected to be lifted, not realizing that the Supreme Court decided to uphold the policy, Cañas said.

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Some migrants have lost patience and crossed into the United States illegally, he said.

“A lot of people are crossing the river,” Cañas said.

CNN is in contact with migrants in several Mexican cities who say they will continue their journey to the US-Mexico border despite Tuesday's ruling.

A Venezuelan migrant, who did not want to be identified for fear it could affect his asylum case, said he will continue to travel to Matamoros and turn himself in to Border Patrol because he believes he has a case.

El Paso braces for a possible wave of migrants

Migrants queue near the border wall to request asylum in the US city of El Paso, Texas, in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, on December 12, 2022.

El Paso has become a flash point in the growing humanitarian crisis at the border, with up to 2,500 migrants newly arrived from Mexico each day, according to the city's mayor, Oscar Leeser.

City officials have declared a state of emergency as the community has been overwhelmed by the continuous flow of asylum seekers.

While Title 42 remains in effect while legal challenges are pending in the courts, El Paso is developing a plan to handle a potential surge of immigrants should the order be terminated, Deputy City Manager Mario D'Agostino said. , this Tuesday.

“Some people talk about 10,000 to 15,000 people waiting in (Ciudad) Juárez to cross.

If all of that came in a relatively short period of time, space would be difficult.

We know transportation would be difficult,” D'Agostino said.

• Migrants in El Paso face uncertainty after Supreme Court left Title 42 in effect amid legal challenges

D'Agostino expects the city's migrant shelter to house about 600 people by Wednesday night.

This represents an increase from the 480 migrants who stayed overnight on Christmas Eve and 420 on Christmas Day, CNN previously reported.

He also said the increase is due to the recent winter storm that caused transportation delays across the country.

He said the buses and planes the migrants hoped to take were also affected.

About 1,000 beds were installed at the El Paso convention center.

Two vacant schools, hotels, churches and nonprofit organizations also house immigrants, according to D'Agostino.

D'Agostino said his biggest concern right now is the undocumented population that is stuck in El Paso with no means of getting out of the border city.

Border CrisisUS-Mexico Border