SAN DIEGO — As Title 42 ends on May 11, a surge of migrants are expected at the U.S.-Mexico Border, and local migrants rights advocates, immigration attorneys and San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria are calling on Congress to step in.

“The City will continue to support the County, which is developing a plan to address impacts on our communities,” Gloria said in a statement to FOX 5 Thursday. “I have met directly with Customs and Border Protection in Washington D.C. and in San Diego to articulate the City’s concern that we simply don’t have the resources to address an influx of migrants and need significant support to address the looming crisis at the Southwestern border. Ultimately, the only real solution is for Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform that constructively addresses this issue and ends this cycle of crises that have a profound impact on American cities.” 

Immigration Attorney Andrew Nietor says the situation on the border is “characterized by uncertainty and anxiety, because there’s just a lack of information.”

“There’s just so much confusion about what should be done and there really needs to be some clarity from the administration,” Nietor said.

Nietor adds the new process under Title 8, instead of under Title 42, will start with a credible fear interview.

“If they what we call ‘pass’ the credible fear interview, then the case would be referred to immigration court for them to proceed with their claim. If they don’t pass the credible fear interview, then they would be subject to that expedited removal process and returned to their home country,” Nietor explained.

Pedro Rios, Director of the American Friends Service Committee and migrant rights advocate, says it could be that decisions will be made in a much more rapid pace, which might not provide migrants and asylum seekers an opportunity to give all of the evidence they need to make their claims as strong as they need to be.

Rios said the end of Title 42 could be seen as a double-edged sword, while it allows people to seek asylum, it puts migrants in the removal proceedings, meaning they could be detained for a longer period of time, and it could bring criminal consequences for some migrants not eligible to seek asylum, including people who repeatedly try to cross the border.

The Biden Administration announced 1,500 troops will head to the U.S. Border on May 10, to do administrative work, which will relieve border patrol agents to do more efforts on the ground.

Nietor said there should be people trained to handle the influx of migrants, instead of armed troops.

“The immigration laws in the United States are archaic, they just don’t reflect the current world and global conditions,” Rios said.