On Friday (May 12), Biden administration officials claimed that they had not witnessed an increase in migrants at the southern border since Title 42 ended, despite asylum officials being told it was a requirement that they work through the weekend to process an influx in applications.
Officials expected an increase in migrants at the border after the end of Title, a Trump-era policy allowing the United States to turn Migrants away almost immediately, but flows have not yet changed since the policy was repealed, according to Blas Nuñez-Neto, chief of operations at U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
On a call with reporters on Friday, Nuñez-Neto said, “Overnight, we saw similar patterns to what we’ve seen over the past several days,” adding that although agents continue to encounter a large number of non-citizens at the border, there wasn’t a “substantial increase” at midnight when Title 42 officially ended.
However, USCIS asylum officers have been informed that they will have to work mandatory overtime on both Saturday and Sunday.
In an email to employees, Ted Kim, associate director of the Refugee, Asylum and International Operations Directorate (RAIO), told employees that “Developments emerging over the course of the day” pointed to a need for more resources and “immediate steps” to increase staff on Saturday and Sunday.
Kim claimed the move was necessary to “ensure full operational readiness.”
Nuñez-Neto acknowledged that conditions could change.
He lauded the experience of those working at the frontlines for the U.S. Border Patrol and the Office of Field Operation, saying they know how to manage such a situation and we’re doing “outstanding work,” but cautioned that “It is still early.”
