Title 42 of the US Code, which denied entry of migrants at the border to stop the spread of COVID-19, ended on May 12, 2023. The original order was issued in March 2020, making it more difficult for migrants to seek asylum in the US. What does the data say about Title 42's effect on immigration?
Federal law enforcement counted 3.8 million encounters with migrants at the Canadian and Mexican borders between March 2020 and April 2022. The government defines a border encounter as when a migrant is apprehended, expelled or otherwise determined inadmissible to the US, anywhere along the border. Fifty-one percent of the migrants in those encounters were denied entry to the US citing the Title 42 order.
