Biden administration to lift Title 42 Covid restriction on border in May, officials say

The Biden administration is preparing to lift Title 42, the public health authority the U.S. has used since the spring of 2020 to stop the spread of Covid by preventing immigrants from crossing the U.S.-Mexico border to claim asylum, say two officials familiar with the planning.

The policy, which the officials say will be lifted on May 23, has blocked more than 1.7 million attempts by immigrants to cross the border since its start during the Trump administration in March 2020, often turning them around and sending them back into poor conditions in Mexico. 

Early in the Biden administration, the U.S. Border Patrol stopped enforcing Title 42 against children crossing alone and immigration advocates sued to afford the same protections to families crossing together. Now, according to the sources, all immigrants — even single adults — will be allowed to enter the United States. 

Plans to end Title 42 were first reported by the Wall Street Journal.