A Trump-era immigration policy known as Title 42 is set to expire Thursday and some SoCal nonprofit organizations are helping gather supplies for migrants arriving at the border.
The Central American Migrant Network, a coalition group that is working to gather necessary supplies to deliver to migrants that are waiting at the U.S.-Mexico border. The group has been helping migrants at a shelter in Tijuana since 2018.
“Every 40 days we travel down there because they could be there for six months, 8 months, a long time for them to cross to the United States,” said Leoncio Velasquez, with the Central American Migrant Network. “When we arrive there they are so happy because every time we go they know that we bring things for the kids.”
Some of the main items Velasquez and his group are looking to collect are shoes, cleaning wipes, hand sanitizer and toys.
Title 42 is an immigration policy that allows government officials to turn away migrants seeking an asylum in the U.S., citing health concerns as a reason.
The policy was implemented by former President Donald Trump who justified the policy with the severity of the COVID pandemic in the county. The policy allowed for deportations to take place at a faster pace than normally permitted.
In 2022, the Supreme Court was set to hear a case backed by Republican lawyers challenging the Biden administration’s move to end the policy but then decided to cancel it.
As the policy is getting closer to its expiration date the U.S. has seen an influx in the number of migrants arriving at the U.S. border. Thousands of migrants are left waiting with their families and children hoping to get good news. Immigration centers across the border are operating at capacity.
