End of Title 42: Homeland Security secretary defends Biden administration's border policies

Many had predicted a surge of migrants as Title 42 came to an end last week. But DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorquez says they have seen an approximately 50% drop in the number of people at the southern border compared to before the Trump-era public health policy expired. There is a safe, lawful and orderly way to reach the United States and seek humanitarian relief and that is through the lawful pathways that we have expanded under President Biden's leadership. For those migrants now arriving at the border, new restrictions are in place. Non-Mexican migrants are required to first apply for and be denied asylum in another country and they will have to make an appointment at a port of entry on the CBP-1 app. If those rules aren't followed, they could be removed and not allowed to enter the U.S.

for at least five years. Fortunately, I think a lot of immigrants are hitting the advice and trying to do what they're supposed to do legally. So the numbers are not what was initially predicted. The ACLU has announced it's suing the Biden administration over these new border policies, calling them unlawful. Meanwhile, a federal judge in Florida ruled migrants cannot be released from border facilities without a formal notice to appear in court. The Biden administration calls the judges' ruling harmful. When in fact our border patrol stations become overcrowded, it is a matter of the safety and security of people, including our own personnel, not just the vulnerable migrants, to be able to release them.

The Department of Justice's request for a restraining order on that ruling was denied. The Department is now expected to appeal the 11th Circuit for an emergency stay. M.Win, ABC News, Washington.

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