Deportation didn’t end with Title 42’s expiration; immigration law still stands

Does the expiration of the Title 42 public health policy mean immigrants are no longer being deported if they reach the southern border illegally?

That’s the impression given by a Spanish-language TikTok video.

In the video, which has more than 17 million views, José Román, a social media influencer who posts about immigration issues, said: "From May 11 on, people reaching the border will not be able to be deported under Title 42."

Román’s account is called "News Sin Fronteras," Spanish for "News Without Borders" and has nearly 300,000 followers. 

"There will be new asylum restrictions that will allow the restraint of people and might reduce the number of border crossings," Román said. 

The video includes text that said "May 11," "cannot be deported," and "Title 42 comes to an end."

However, these statements don’t tell the full story.

From March 2020 to May 11, 2023, when the policy expired, Border Patrol agents had the authority to quickly turn away people who reached the southern border. During this time, agents were also able to turn away people under immigration law. 

The TikTok video gives the misleading impression that the border is now open for anyone to come in. 

Although Title 42 has expired, enforcement of immigration law has not, so people who have no legal right to remain in the U.S. can still be turned back. 

President Joe Biden’s administration has laid out several policies to reduce the number of migrants coming in after Title 42’s expiration. Among those is a rule that says people are ineligible for asylum in the U.S. if they don’t use a phone app to arrange an appointment with immigration officials or if they don’t first apply for asylum in another country.

On May 13 and May 14, Border Patrol agents encountered about 9,000 immigrants who were trying to enter the country between ports of entry, according to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Some of those were allowed to remain in the U.S. while their asylum cases are heard, others were deported.

The U.S. has deported thousands of migrants since Title 42’s expiration, including 2,400 who were sent to Mexico, U.S. Department of Homeland Security official Blas Nuñez-Neto told reporters May 15.