El Paso declares state of emergency ahead of Title 42 end

DALLAS - With just two days to go until the immigration policy known as Title 42 expires, Texas and the White House are preparing for an anticipated surge in border crossings.

Over the weekend, El Paso’s mayor declared a state of emergency ahead of the end of Title 42.

The Biden administration plans to lift the pandemic policy that’s been in place since the Trump administration.

It allowed the United States to quickly expel many asylum seekers just after they crossed the border.

Republicans and some Democrats have pushed for an extension to that policy.

When it ends on Wednesday, there will almost certainly be a major influx of people crossing the border.

Concerns raised about number of border crossings in Texas as Title 42 set to end next week

El Paso has already been dealing with a huge surge in migration and is preparing for even more people to arrive by the middle of the week.

"I said from the beginning that I would call it when I felt either our asylum seekers or our community was not safe," said Mayor Oscar Lesser.

Despite the recent surge, Lesser has been reluctant to issue an emergency declaration because he said he did not know what kind of help the state government would offer.

The Democrat said he’s been assured that Gov. Greg Abbott’s office will work with the city and El Paso County to take care of the migrants’ needs.

The emergency declaration will be in effect for a week and may be extended.

El Paso County to begin busing migrants to Dallas

Lesser also plans to start bussing migrants to cities with major airport hubs including Dallas, Houston, Phoenix and Denver this week.

Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson said local nonprofits are willing to help and don’t plan on being overwhelmed.