On April 27, 2023, the Departments of Homeland Security (DHS) and State (DOS) announced new measures “to further reduce unlawful migration across the Western Hemisphere, significantly expand lawful pathways for protection, and facilitate the safe, orderly, and humane processing of migrants.” DHS said the measures will be implemented “in close coordination with regional partners, including the governments of Mexico, Canada, Spain, Colombia, and Guatemala.”

DHS noted that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) temporary Title 42 public health order will lift at 11:59 p.m. on May 11, 2023, and that the United States will return to Title 8 immigration authorities at that time. Individuals who cross into the United States at the southwest border without authorization or having used a lawful pathway, and without having scheduled a time to arrive at a port of entry, would be presumed ineligible for asylum under a new proposed regulation, absent an applicable exception.

The measures announced on April 27, 2023, include imposing stiffer consequences for failing to use lawful pathways; humanely managing migration flows with regional partners; and facilitating safe, orderly, and humane processing of migrants, DHS said. Some key measures and additional lawful pathways being implemented include: 

  • Expanded access to the CBPOne mobile application for migrants in Central and Northern Mexico, who can use it to schedule an appointment to present themselves at a port of entry rather than trying to enter between ports;
  • New family reunification parole processes for El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala, and modernizing existing family reunification processes for Cuba and Haiti;
  • Doubling the number of refugees admitted from the Western Hemisphere;
  • Continuing to accept up to 30,000 individuals per month from Venezuela, Nicaragua, Cuba, and Haiti under expanded parole processes;
  • Opening regional processing centers across the Western Hemisphere to facilitate access to lawful pathways; and
  • Launching an aggressive 60-day anti-smuggling campaign in the Darien corridor.

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