The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) will temporarily halt its partnership with the Austin Police Department (APD) to focus on border cities due to the expiration of Title 42. The initiative, called the Austin Violent Crimes Task Force (AVCTF), began on March 30 to assist APD with its staffing shortage. Since the program began, there have been significant decreases in violent crime, response times, and calls for service. However, the program has also drawn criticism from heavily patrolled communities. DPS' last day will be Saturday, and troopers will likely not return to their Austin patrols for several weeks.
The US-Mexico migration deal to curb the surge of migrants arriving at the US doorstep could further overwhelm border cities already struggling to cope. The agreement suggests a significant policy shift on migration between both nations, with Mexico accepting migrants from Venezuela, Haiti, Cuba, and Nicaragua who are turned away from the US. The change means the United States could increasingly rely on Mexico to accept deportees from countries other than Mexico, piling further pressure on border cities already struggling with large migrant populations. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of migrants are already on their way to Mexico and the US after having crossed through the deadly Darién Gap between Panama and Colombia.
