Mayor Eric Adams at Madison Square Garden, on July 1, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)
Title 42 of the United States Code is the law that addresses public health, social welfare, and civil rights. It had been a rarely-used clause in the 1944 Public Health Services Law. But former President Donald Trump’s administration began using it in 2020 to prevent migrants from entering the country. President Joe Biden is about to end the policy, and according to New York City Mayor Eric Adams, the lifting of the policy will negatively impact NYC services such as education.
Title 42 gives the government the ability to take emergency action to stop the “introduction of communicable diseases.” In March 2020, Trump began using Title 42 to expel thousands of migrants and to suspend the entry of migrants at the Mexico and Canada borders under the argument that allowing migrants to enter the U.S. could increase the spread of covid-19.
The Biden administration extended the Trump administration’s orders in August 2021, but in April of this year Biden announced that it would end the policy, SCOTUS Blog reported. The Title 42 policy ends Dec. 21 under an order from Washington, DC, federal Judge Emmet Sullivan, who ruled it was imposed illegally by Trump.
Mayor Adams warned on Dec. 19 that the cost of dealing with a coming influx of migrants due to the end of the Title 42 U.S. border policy will impact “every service” that New Yorkers rely on, including the New York City Police Department, The New York Post reported.
Adams was an officer in the New York City Transit Police and then the NYPD for more than 20 years, retiring at the rank of captain.
“It is alarming. It is,” Adams said. “And New Yorkers need to be aware of what we are up against and I’m not going to sugarcoat it.
“I’m not going to give the impression that this new influx is not going to impact our basic services.”
Adams added: “Every service we provide is going to be impacted by the influx of migrants into our city.
“It’s going to impact education. It’s going to impact the dollars we use to clean our streets. It’s going to impact our public safety,” the mayor warned. “It’s going to impact our helping those long-term New Yorkers who are in need.”
Back in September, Adams issued across-the-board, 3 percent budget cuts by all city agencies. He later exempted cops, firefighters and teachers from a budget cuts directive.
As of Dec. 18, more than 31,800 migrants have arrived in NYC since the spring. Nearly 21,700 are living in taxpayer-funded emergency shelters, according to the latest figures released by City Hall.
Mayor Eric Adams speaks during a graduation ceremony at Madison Square Garden, on July 1, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)
