(WXYZ) — With the expiration of Title 42, communities at the southern border have already been seeing an increase in migrant traffic into the U.S.
In cities like Detroit, that impact is not expected to be as strong but it’s possible that offices like the U.S. Immigration and Citizenship Services will get more calls and applications.
Even before Title 42’s sunsetting at 11:59 p.m.Thursday, another major midwest city, Chicago, said it's been having to house migrants bussed in from Texas in police stations. That problem is only expected to get worse.
Local immigration attorney Herman Dhade is the president of Detroit Immigration Law Firm. On top of preparing for the possibility of additional asylum seekers, his biggest concern right now, he says, is for people’s safety at the southern border.
"It's been in effect," he said. "It's gonna be chaos."
Another layer here, a federal judge in Florida is stopping the government from releasing a number of migrants in CBP custody, which as of Wednesday was more than 28,000.
CBP was planning to release some without court dates due to the current strain on border facilities.
The Biden administration is expected to appeal.
The administration adds that entry into the U.S. won’t be easy and anyone who arrives at the southern border after midnight will be presumed ineligible for asylum and subject to tougher consequences for unlawful entry.
