Former President Donald Trump and his advisers are actively researching potential health crises that could be used to justify southern border restrictions, even as recent data shows border crossings have dropped dramatically.

The strategy would involve invoking Title 42, a federal public health measure previously used during the COVID-19 pandemic, citing concerns about “severe strains of the flu, tuberculosis, scabies, other respiratory illnesses,” Trump told The New York Times.

Current border statistics paint a contrasting picture. Border agents made approximately 47,000 arrests in December, according to a senior U.S. Customs and Border Protection official, marking an 81% decrease from the nearly 250,000 arrests recorded in December of the previous year.

“We at the Modern Medicine Club are not aware of any health crises at the border,” said Sam Wilhoit ’25, President of Brophy’s Modern Medicine Club. “I think that would be an unethical use of the Department of Health. I don’t think we should be politicizing that.”

The former president’s approach has drawn scrutiny from both health and immigration perspectives. Stephen Miller, Trump’s head immigration adviser, has identified Title 42 as a key tool for the administration’s border strategy, according to sources familiar with the planning.

However, Biden administration officials suggest the previous use of Title 42 may have had unintended consequences. “Title 42 may have actually led to an increase in border crossings that the administration struggled to handle,” said Blas Nuñez-Neto, Deputy Assistant to the President.

Title 42, which allows federal authorities to restrict border crossings during public health emergencies, was previously employed by both the Trump and Biden administrations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This article was written using AI. The reporter takes responsibility for the piece by gathering, editing and verifying all included content.