The COVID-era border policy Title 42 allowed U.S. officials to turn away migrants who came to the U.S.-Mexico border because of health concerns and specifically focused on screening for COVID to slow the spread. With record numbers of migrants surging the border and the official end of Title 42, there are fears the U.S. could see another public health crisis.
On "Fox & Friends Weekend" Saturday, Fox News medical contributor Dr. Marc Siegel warned the end of Title 42 paired with a surge in migrants over recent years has caused a "public health emergency."
FEDERAL JUDGE BLOCKS BIDEN ADMIN FROM RELEASING MIGRANTS WITHOUT COURT DATES AS TITLE 42 EXPIRES
DR. MARC SIEGEL: It wasn't enough even then, even when COVID was the stated reason. We're dealing with a situation which is a public health crisis by definition. Over 80,000 crossings last week alone. We don't have the ability to screen people that are coming here illegally. They're not announcing that they're coming. First of all, those regions at the border are medically underserved to begin with, the entire region. And there's a health professional shortage there. There are no doctors. There are no nurses. There's a tremendous amount of obesity and diabetes to begin with. Then we're talking about things like tuberculosis, where two-thirds of the foreign cases come across that border. We can't treat them.
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Now, in 1900, we would screen immigrants for tuberculosis in 1900, but those were legal immigrants. So I think by definition, when you start using words like asylum and you say that's your justification, nobody is screening people. So it's all contagious diseases are on the table here. Measles is on the rise at the border. Influenza has been a problem. COVID was just the tip of the iceberg with this, not to mention injuries of people trying to cross, motor vehicle accidents, people getting hurt, and hospitals not equipped.
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It's a public health emergency now.
Title 42, the public health order that allows for the rapid expulsion of migrants at the southern border due to the COVID-19 pandemic, expired on Thursday night with the ending of the COVID-19 national emergency. In the days leading up to the order's end, agents have been encountering historic levels of over 10,000 migrants a day — with authorities already preparing for releases of migrants without court dates onto the streets.
Fox News' Adam Shaw and Ashlyn Messier contributed to this report.
