Fewer than 1 percent of the 650,000 migrants who attempted to seek refugee protections in the United States over the past year were able to do so under Title 42, a restrictive policy implemented by President Donald Trump at the start of the coronavirus pandemic that closes the U.S.-Mexico border to all “nonessential travel,” The Los Angeles Times reports. President Joe Biden instituted a continuation of the policy in January. Just 120 would-be immigrants underwent and passed screenings for possible protection by the United States, which would allow them to remain in the U.S. while they seek asylum. Only 2 percent of the migrants were able to file claims of fear of returning to their home country, the first step in seeking legal protection, according to the LA Times; 530,000 were summarily expelled under Title 42.
