Joe Biden’s DHS Increasingly Refusing to Use Title 42 at Border, Opting for Catch and Release

President Joe Biden’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is increasingly refusing to use the Title 42 public health authority to quickly remove illegal aliens after their arrival at the United States-Mexico border.

Weeks ago, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that on May 23 the Biden administration would end Title 42. The authority was first issued by former President Trump in 2020 and has allowed federal immigration officials to quickly remove illegal aliens from the U.S.

Last month, a federal judge announced he would block the Biden administration from ending Title 42 while the issue makes its way through the courts. The end of the authority could come sometime this summer.

Newly released data shows that Biden’s DHS is increasingly refusing to use Title 42 to remove illegal aliens, instead opting to release tens of thousands into the U.S. interior.

In April, for instance, DHS used Title 42 in 41 percent of cases involving border crossers. That is lower than February and March, when Title 42 was used in 50 to 55 percent of cases involving border crossers.

For months, Breitbart News has reported that Biden’s DHS had been winding down usage of Title 42. Most recently, sources close to Breitbart News confirmed that the agency has prematurely ended Title 42.

“Title 42 exemptions start today,” a source close to Breitbart News said on April 21. “More exemptions are coming later and so on. Most are getting released on Notices to Appear (NTAs).”

DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas contradicted that report, suggesting no such ending of Title 42 has taken place.

The majority of Americans continue to support Title 42.

A recent Fox News poll found that 63 percent of voters want Biden to keep Title 42, including 77 percent of Republicans, 57 percent of swing voters, and 49 percent of Democrats. Even among self-described liberals, about 42 percent want Title 42 to be kept.

John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here.