Biden administration wants $3 BILLION to deal with a migrant surge when Title 42 ends

The Department of Homeland Security is requesting an additional $3 billion to deal with the impending onslaught of migrants as Title 42 is slated to end December 21. 

That is on top of the $56.7 billion President Biden requested to be included in the fiscal year 2023 spending bill Congress is currently negotiating for the department (DHS).

Senior DHS officials told NBC News they put the request for further funding to the White House Office of Management and Budget and the White House has now taken it to Congress. 

Republicans may be hesitant to approve the new funds as they have said they want to see stricter border security before pouring in more money.  

Venezuelan migrants get in line to receive donations of clothing and food at the camp area on the banks of the Rio Grande that divides Ciudad Juarez, Mecixo and El Paso, Texas

Mexican municipal police take measures as Venezuelan migrants are evicted from the camp area on the banks of the Rio Grande that divides Ciudad Juarez and El Paso, Texas

The Covid-era Title 42 allows border agents to immediately expel migrants and has been used more than 2.4 million times to keep border crossers from claiming asylum since former President Trump instated the policy in 2020. 

The number of migrant encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border has already reached 7,500-8,000 per day and in a worst-case scenario could swell up to 18,000 a day, officials predict. Border Patrol have previously said their resources are stretched to the max when they see 5,000  encounters per day. 

'We are in the hole for millions, even without Title 42 lifting,' one of the DHS officials told NBC. 

Once Title 42 is no longer effective, migrants will have the chance to stay in the U.S. and claim asylum. Further funding is needed to process, shelter and transport them.

Though the policy is scheduled to end in less than two weeks, that date us still in flux as a number of Republican states have asked to defend it in court. 

The Biden administration on Wednesday launched an appeal of the court ruling by U.S. District Judge Emmett Sullivan that ended the policy. DHS said it is not looking to continue Title 42-based expulsions - only arguing that its past expulsions were lawful. 

The appeal seeks to preserve the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) authority to impose public health orders to regulate migration.  

Last month, Sullivan deemed the policy unlawful and the Biden administration asked for a five-week stay to prepare for the end of its key border enforcement policy. 

The CDC declared Title 42 unnecessary to curb the spread of Covid-19 in April, but Republican-led states challenged the Biden administration's attempt to end the policy and a federal judge in Louisiana halted the termination at the time. 

This week Sens. Kyrsten Sinema and Thom Tillis worked out a framework on immigration reform and border security that would extend Title 42 for at least one year, but it's unlikely Congress will act on the proposal in time for December 21.