The mayor of El Paso, Texas, declared a state of emergency to help the city prepare for the end of Title 42 on May 11. The pandemic-era health order allowed border officials to deport immigrants almost immediately on public health grounds, but it’s ending. As a result, illegal border crossings are expected to surge over the next couple of weeks. 

“We will help and we will make sure that all our asylum seekers are treated with dignity and respect, but it’s going to be very important for us that we do not have people sleeping on the streets, camping on the streets,” Mayor Oscar Leeser said at a press conference. 

Leeser said he went into Juarez, Mexico, which sits on the border with El Paso, to get a handle on what the city can expect. He estimated there are 10,000 to 12,000 people waiting to cross on May 11 or May 12, and even more right behind them.

Leeser said immigrants told him they’re waiting in Mexico because they believe they will have a better chance of getting into America after Title 42 ends. He said misinformation has spread south of the border.

“They’ve come in, really with a false pretense, that there will be open borders starting on May 11 and anyone that’s already in the United States will no longer be required to have proper documentation. And that is an untrue statement,” Leeser said.  

City officials said the state of emergency is particularly important for migrant processing and transportation. The city wants to get immigrants to transportation hubs as quickly as possible so they can get them out of the city and onto their final destination. They are trying to avoid large groups sleeping on the streets as they have in the past. 

Leeser stressed that local El Paso tax payers will not be stuck with the bill for caring and transporting migrants. The city has been reimbursed by the federal government throughout the migrant crisis and non-governmental organizations have stepped in to cover other costs including food and shelter. 

The state of emergency comes as the Biden administration prepares for the end of Title 42 at the federal level. The administration will implement a new fast-track asylum process for single adults. The immigrants will be interviewed by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and those who don’t qualify will be deported in days or weeks.