Local Centers for Immigrants and Refugees Prepare for End of Title 42

The pandemic-era policy that enabled officials to turn away migrants at the border before they could seek asylum expired at 11:59 p.m. Thursday.

With that, Homeland Security officials predict 10,000 migrants per day will try to cross into the U.S. The numbers have already surpassed that, with 11,000 apprehended on Tuesday and Wednesday.

In Bridgeport, Coco the therapy dog is providing some relief to very busy staff at the Connecticut Institute for Refugees and Immigrants (CIRI), as they handle an uptick in asylum cases.

“Our legal caseworkers and our attorneys are booked out almost three or four months now,” Susan Schnitzer, CIRI president and CEO, said.

They are preparing for more calls with Title 42 expiring.

“We are expecting it to really increase the number of folks coming to us and looking to start their asylum applications,” Schnitzer said.

Schnitzer says the asylum system in the U.S. is already backed up, with some waiting years to have their cases heard.

“We're looking for more volunteers for our pro bono attorney network, and we do have an attorney who is focusing on asylum applications. We work very closely with partner organizations throughout the state,” she said. “Even with all of that there's just not the capacity here in Connecticut to meet the need of all the folks that will be coming and requesting support.”

In New Haven, Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services (IRIS) has also been handling a higher volume of cases.

“There might be large numbers of people coming, we don't know. If there are, we need to expand our resources so that we can deal with the large numbers,” Chris George, IRIS executive director, said.

George notes that the Biden administration has opened new pathways for legal migration, but he is still calling for reform.

“We need many more immigration judges so that we can process more asylum applications,” George said. “We need to change the work authorization rules so that once somebody applies for asylum, very soon after that they can get work authorization instead of waiting months and months or a year. We need to implement pathways to citizenship for the people who are already here.”

With Title 42 expiring, the Biden administration is preparing to direct Customs and Border Protection to begin releasing migrants into the U.S. without court dates or the ability to track them, according to NBC News.

If that happens, both IRIS and CIRI hope those thousands of migrants are not left to fend without resources.

“They should be connected to an organization like IRIS that can help them find legal services, provide some case management, enroll the kids in school, connect them to some health care,” George said.

“I hope when they're doing that, that they are giving, they're giving people coming in, or referral sources to agencies such as CIRI,” Schnitzer added. “Most folks are coming with maybe a backpack, the clothes on their back, and they're really in need of food, clothing, and shelter.”

The executive director of the organization Make the Road Connecticut is also reflecting on the Biden administration ending Title 42.

“As the Title 42 policy comes to an end, many people in our community feel desperate and anxious. Dozens of new restrictions on asylum, including eliminating the right to seek asylum for those who cross the border will be added and will cause so much harm to our communities,” Barbara Lopez, Make the Road Connecticut executive director, said in part in a statement.

“President Biden should focus on humane and durable solutions, not continue Trump’s legacy by cutting access to asylum and over-militarizing our border,” Lopez continued. “A common-sense immigration framework must include solutions that keep families together, not tear them apart. We urge the U.S. and the Biden administration to protect human life by ending asylum bans and creating a process for fair and orderly asylum at the border.”