Title 42 may be ending, but what exactly is it?

A Trump-era policy to restrict migrant entry to the U.S. for public health reasons could come to an end Dec. 21.

It has been a rocky road for Title 42.

Faced with the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, then President Donald J. Trump used an interpretation of a rarely used clause in the 1944 Public Health Service Act to speed up the return of migrants crossing the U.S. border with Mexico.

Ever since, immigration activists and lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have been debating the policy’s consequences.

So, what exactly is Title 42?

• Title 42 was drawn from the 1944 Public Health Service Act that allowed the government to restrict entry of immigrants for dire public health reasons.

• The Surgeon General can determine if a threat of communicable disease is imminent from another country and that the danger can be amplified by migrants entering the U.S. border.

• So, restricting entry of migrants would be in the best interest of public health.

• The Surgeon General can set the timeline on how long the threat is likely to be around.