Atlanta metro prepares for migration change after Title 42 ends

ATLANTA — At midnight, Title 42 expires, rolling back a pandemic-era regulation that turned away asylum seekers coming to the United States to prevent health risks.

Starting at midnight, border patrol agents will be required to process individual claims from those asylum seekers as they mass along the Mexico side of the U.S. southern border.

Groups in the Atlanta metro area are preparing to be a resource for many of those migrants.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

Channel 2′s Berndt Petersen was in Brookhaven at the Latin American Association (LAA), where they say many more people are seeking help to enter the U.S. and settle.

Ahead of the expiration of Title 42, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is sending $7 million to aid Atlanta, and the LAA hopes to get some of that assistance. However, they’re worried it won’t be enough to make an impact.

Carolina Ramos is a director of the LAA in Atlanta. With U.S. immigration policy about to change, she tells Channel 2 Action News that the switch back to Title 8 will return decades-old border rules to active use.

“How do we prepare for this?” Ramos said. “How do we work with other organizations who may have the funding to make sure folks don’t end up homeless or in poverty?”

Some say the Title 8 restrictions are even more restrictive measures.

“It’s a little more confusing. Do they qualify or not? How do they come here?” Ramos asked. “Even for us. How do we explain it to folks who are coming? And once they arrive, even though they have been allowed in and have a piece of paper, it may mean you have to go back.”

TRENDING STORIES:

• Georgia mother tortured, dismembered after being lured with shopping trip, GBI says
• Autopsy report released for songwriter Kyle Jacobs
• Young Thug released from hospital after getting sick before court proceedings

In 2022, the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol encountered more than two million people. Some of them got through to Atlatna looking for help. The LAA has held special events and provides assistance such as a food pantry, medical care, and more.

“It’s heartbreaking to hear their experiences of what they’ve been through,” Ramos told Channel 2 Action News. “But then, there’s inspiration. They have so much faith and hope that they can achieve something better. The American dream, which is what all immigrants come to this country for.”

[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]

OTHER NEWS:

Officials brace for end of Title 42

©2022 Cox Media Group