Under the guise of public health, the US Border Patrol has largely abandoned its normal, already aggressive “Title 8” protocols (broken out as eight subcategories below) for apprehended extralegal migrants and asylum seekers, replacing them with a policy of summary deportation under “Title 42.”
Individuals who present improper or fraudulent documents for entry or meet certain other criteria are deported without an immigration hearing.[1]
PACR (Prompt Asylum Review Process): Pathway to “promptly address credible fear claims.”[2] HARP (Humanitarian Asylum Review Process): “Promptly address[es] credible fear claims of amenable Mexican nationals.”[3] ACA (Asylum Cooperation Agreement): migrants are deported to a northern triangle country where they can allegedly seek asylum instead.[4]
Release on own recognizance pending appearance before an immigration judge.[5]
Administrative removal without hearing or review for people who returned after a prior deportation. Usually disqualifies further legal relief except in cases related to fear of return.[6]
Agreement to a “voluntary” supervised departure instead of undergoing a formal removal process.[7]
Individuals issued a notice to appear and held in custody pending appearance before an immigration judge.[8]
AKA the “remain in Mexico” policy. Migrants seeking admission to the United States are deported to Mexico to await immigration proceedings.[9]
No final disposition at time of data collection or disposition category not listed here.[10]
In March 2020, the CDC under then-president Trump issued an order under Title 42 of the Public Health Service Act, alleging that, with respect to Covid-19, the “danger is so increased by the introduction of persons from [Canada, Mexico, and other origin countries] that a temporary suspension of such introduction is necessary to protect public health.”[11] Supported by this order, US Customs and Border Patrol has largely abandoned its normal avenues for processing incoming extralegal migrants and asylum seekers, instead immediately expelling them to their country of last transit or, if that is not possible, their country of origin.[12]
Kyle Palermo, 2021. More work at kylepalermo.com. You can find my annotated data here. Github repo is here.
Kevin Sieff, “The People Up the Stairs.” This American Life episode 721.
Molly O’Toole, “Biden inherits border chaos from Trump, but for now his next steps are uncertain.” Los Angeles Times.
Human Rights Watch, “Letter to the Biden Transition Team Regarding Ensuring Humanitarian Border Reception.”