As Title 42 is set to expire at 11:59 p.m. ET Thursday, security officials are bracing for what could be an unprecedented influx of migrants seeking asylum along the southern border.

The COVID-era public health emergency measure allowed for the quick expulsion of migrants at the border and nearly halted the processing of asylum applications for more than three years.

Once Title 42 is lifted, the tens of thousands of people who have been waiting in Mexico after fleeing from violence,