The US will handle the migrant crisis "humanely" following the lifting of Title 42, which is expected to result in a surge of migrants at the southern border with Mexico," the White House said Tuesday.
"We're going to do everything that we can and use every available tool to us to deal with this issue in a humane way, manage it humanely," spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said at a press briefing.
She said the approach to managing the border would primarily involve enforcement, deterrence and diplomacy.
According to Jean-Pierre, a multi-agency process is in place, which the Biden administration believes is robust enough to handle the situation after the lifting of Title 42.
According to a CNN report, more than 150,000 migrants were waiting in shelters and on streets of northern Mexican states bordering the US this past weekend.
A source familiar with the estimates told CNN on Monday that the figure includes 60,000 migrants in the state of Chihuahua, 35,000 in Tamaulipas and 25,000 in Coahuila.
The Biden administration has been bracing for an expected surge in migrant arrivals at the southern border with coronavirus pandemic-era authorization expiring this week that allows for the swift removal of asylum seekers.
Since Title 42 was enacted by former President Donald Trump in March 2020, the policy has allowed the US to expel migrants nearly 2.7 million times from the southern border, according to government figures.
