New U.S. Immigration Measures Set to Replace Title 42

Welcome back to World Brief, where new U.S. immigration policies target asylum-seekers at the Mexico border, protests turn violent in Pakistan, and fighting between rival tribes highlights growing tensions in Sudan.

The United States is preparing to say goodbye to one set of immigration measures and hello to another. On Thursday at 11:59 p.m., Title 42 will officially end, marking more than three years of the pandemic-era public health policy impacting immigration and border control. Under Title 42, migrants who crossed the border illegally could be rapidly expelled from the United States prior to formally applying for asylum—a measure that was ostensibly imposed to prevent the spread of COVID-19, but one that critics argued prohibited people from seeking their legal right to request asylum. Individuals expelled under Title 42 did not receive an immigration record, meaning they could not be criminally charged for unauthorized entry.

In its place, the Biden administration introduced new policies on Wednesday to create “tougher consequences for people who cross the border illegally,” U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said at a press conference. The measures will go into effect when Title 42 ends.

The new regulations say migrants arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border will be considered ineligible for asylum in the United States if they failed to use official asylum pathways or traveled through other countries without seeking protection there first. Non-Mexican migrants would be most affected by this measure. Last week, Mexico City signed an agreement with Washington to continue accepting migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela who are turned away at the U.S. border, as well as up to 100,000 citizens of Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador who have family in the United States.

Washington also introduced a new digital campaign in Latin America on Wednesday to counter disinformation from smugglers. This coincides with a U.S. order that coordinates efforts between Colombia and Panama to stop smugglers passing through the Darien Gap, a dangerous crossing that hundreds of thousands of people attempt each year. “Do not listen to the lies of the smugglers,” Mayorkas warned. “This is what will happen to you: You will be returned.”

Migrants removed from the United States can face criminal charges, which could bar them from attempting reentry for five years. Since the start of fiscal 2023, 1.4 million migrants have been removed from the United States, Mayorkas said, and nearly 10,000 smugglers have been arrested.

“It’s going to be chaotic for a while,” U.S. President Joe Biden said on Tuesday regarding the changing policies. He has deployed an additional 1,500 troops to the southern border to assist with administrative functions.

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Behind bars. Pakistani police arrested hundreds of protesters supporting former Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday, a day after the nation’s military arrested the former leader on corruption allegations. At least three people were killed and 27 more injured during Wednesday’s demonstrations, most of which were peaceful. Several top members of Khan’s political party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, were among those taken into custody, Pakistani officials said. And three provinces have since requested military support to tackle spreading violence and destruction of property.

A court on Wednesday ordered Khan to remain in police custody for at least eight days. According to Imran Shafique, a former prosecutor at Pakistan’s National Accountability Bureau, Khan will only be able to seek bail once his remand is over. The former prime minister was indicted with illegally selling state gifts while holding office.

Despite losing power last April in a no-confidence vote, Khan has maintained his firebrand status. And some local reports indicate that the state may want to encourage further unrest to keep Khan in detention and delay elections slated for October, explained FP’s Michael Kugelman in South Asia Brief. “It’s difficult to predict what will happen next, but Pakistan could build a case to permanently disqualify Khan from public office,” he wrote.

Tribal tensions. Sudan’s Hausa and Nuba tribes clashed in Kosti, a city near the border with South Sudan, this week, killing 25 people. Although tribal violence, particularly in south and west Sudan, is not uncommon, this latest surge in fighting occurred against the backdrop of an ongoing conflict that began on April 15.

Rival forces led by army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Rapid Support Forces chief Mohamed Hamdan “Hemeti” Dagalo have killed hundreds of civilians and left thousands more stranded as the two leaders vie for power. And millions of Sudanese face humanitarian crises as violence spills across the nation’s most populated cities and threatens regional security.

Sudan’s descent into chaos has prompted criticism from some Western officials and Sudanese activists who feel that “the Biden administration’s policies empowered the two generals at the center of the crisis, exacerbated tensions between them as they pushed for a political deal, and shunted aside pro-democracy activists in the process,” FP’s Robbie Gramer reported.

Gaza strikes back. Militants in Gaza fired hundreds of rockets into Israel on Wednesday following Israeli airstrikes 24 hours earlier that killed 21 people, including three top commanders of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group as well as women and children. Egyptian officials have since brokered a fragile cease-fire; however, reports of more rocket fire into Israel are questioning the truce’s strength. Egypt, along with Qatar and the United Nations, brokered the last cease-fire, when the death of a Palestinian hunger striker in Israeli custody sparked violence between the two sides.

Israeli officials reported no casualties or serious damages from Wednesday’s rocket barrage, and the Israel Defense Forces said its Iron Dome air defense system successfully intercepted at least 62 of the projectiles. Around 6,500 Israelis were evacuated from their homes near Gaza on Tuesday, while schools and major highways were closed in anticipation of retaliation.

A small group of British tots are entering a brave new world. On Wednesday, the United Kingdom’s fertility regulator announced the births of the nation’s first babies created with DNA from three different people—an experimental genetic treatment that aims to prevent children from inheriting rare diseases. Science, man. Wild.