The end of Title 42 sparks concern across the U.S.

Hailey Brown - For the past three years, migration at the U.S.-Mexico border has been operating under Title 42, a health emergency policy that allowed U.S. officials to turn migrants away easily.  In early May, the policy expired, creating concern that immigrants would overwhelm the Southern border. Immigration and the issues surrounding it are pertinent to scales across the U.S. and South America, from the national scales of individual countries to local communities and the region as a whole. 

Thus, the implication of changing U.S. immigration policies is not just felt at the Southern boundary. Migrants face different conflicts at the local, country, and regional levels — circumstances that impact both why they want to enter the U.S. and how they are able to. For instance, migrants coming from Haiti are pushed to the U.S. by issues such as poverty, natural disaster, and political instability. Haitians, along with migrants from a few other states, are eligible for a humanitarian parole program that allows them to fly to the U.S. and stay for two years if they have a financial sponsor. However, there are limited slots, and most migrants lack the important American connections needed to qualify. From a U.S. perspective, lawmakers are tasked with balancing constituent concerns and national issues when crafting policies. This makes it difficult, almost impossible to craft immigration policies that satisfy every interest group

The politicization and the controversy surrounding the United State’s boundary with Mexico are unique to the country's contemptuous and partisan relationship with immigration and its southern border. It has brought everchanging laws, and endless debate and protest. How open the border should be and who should be allowed to cross, when, and how remain continual questions. And the answers remain unique for migrants of different backgrounds and from different countries. 

_{Image source: Sgt. 1st Class Gordon Hyde, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons}