Title 42 didn't result in a surge of migration, after all – but border communities are still facing record-breaking migration

In an aerial image taken on May 12, 2023, a border wall and concertina wire barriers stand along the Rio Grande river between Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, left, and El Paso, Texas. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

U.S. government officials and media alike made widespread predictions that there would be a surge of migration across the U.S.-Mexico border in May 2023.

That’s when the U.S. lifted an emergency health policy called Title 42 that allowed the government to turn away migrants at the border to prevent the spread of COVID-19.