President Joe Biden announced on Thursday that the US plans to prolong Title 42, which allows border officials to eject migrants entering from Mexico, while also accepting up to 30,000 migrants a month from Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua and Haiti.
The President announced the expansion of the parole programme while also telling migrants: “Do not just show up at the border. Stay where you are and apply legally from there. Starting today. If you don't apply through the legal process, you will not be eligible for this new parole programme.”
The Biden administration has tried to lift Title 42 but the Supreme Court has ordered it to remain in place until an official ruling, following a challenge by Republican state governors.
“I don't like Title 42,” Mr Biden said to reporters after his remarks.
The order was originally enforced by former president Donald Trump.
Mr Biden added that Mexico has agreed to allow the US to return 30,000 people per month who are apprehended while attempting to unlawfully cross the border.
Mr Biden will visit the US-Mexico border in El Paso, Texas, on Sunday for the first time since he became President two years ago, as a stop on the way to Mexico City for meetings with Mexican and Canadian leaders.
The President, who took office in January 2021, has struggled with record numbers of migrants caught crossing the US-Mexico border. Migration is expected to be a major item on the agenda at the meeting in Mexico City.
Republicans, who are currently holding up the US Congress with their inability to elect a new House Speaker, have criticised the Biden administration over what they perceive as lax border security, while the White House argues it is trying to create a more humane structure.
“The actions we're announcing today will make things better … but will not fix the border problem completely,” Mr Biden said. “There's more that has to be done.”
