US: Record number of migrant encounters reported

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US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reported that there were 233,740 interactions between migrants and border guards last month, which is the most ever documented for November.

The number is much higher than the 174,845 migrant interactions CBP documented in November 2021, according to data the border agency provided on Friday night.

Nearly 67,000 of the 233,740 encounters reported by CBP last month involved individuals being processed for removal under Title 42.

The Title 42 border expulsion program, which is allegedly curbing the influx of unauthorized immigrants entering the US from Mexico, was rejected by the US Senate on Thursday along with two other initiatives.

A second attempt to maintain Title 42 was likewise denied by the US Senate, this time by Independent Senator Kyrsten Sinema and Democrat Senator Jon Tester.

The Biden administration appealed to the US Supreme Court on Tuesday, asking it to reject a Republican effort to repeal the Title 42 policy that permits the expulsion of migrants based on their health.

The regulation was set to expire on Wednesday, December 21, but the Biden administration is pleading with the Supreme Court to abolish Title 42 in a last-minute hearing.

Title 42 is a public health order enacted under former president Donald Trump, which allows for the swift removal of migrants under the excuse of public health reasons (meaning COVID-19). The Biden administration made use of the order to force out tens of thousands of migrants.

More than one million migrants have so far been expelled using Title 42.

It is worth noting that Human Rights First has constantly reported that Title 42 expulsions had resulted in nearly 10,000 reports of kidnapping, torture, rape, and other violent attacks against people detained or sent back to Mexico.