WASHINGTON —

       The Biden administration has drafted a plan to end by late May a controversial border policy that has prevented most migrants from seeking humanitarian protections at the U.S. border, according to people familiar with the matter.

       Homeland Security Department officials had been in talks for weeks in the wake of two contrasting court decisions over the Trump-era policy, known as Title 42. The policy invoked a 1944 public health statute to quickly remove migrants either to Mexico or to their home countries in an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19.

       The decision, not yet final, would give officials time to prepare at the border, the Associated Press reported.

       Title 42 applies to adults traveling alone, and parents traveling with their children. Last year, the Biden administration exempted children traveling without a parent from being expelled under the policy.

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       Over the past two years, border authorities have used Title 42 to expel migrants about 60% of the time — more than 1.7 million expulsions — while allowing others in with humanitarian exemptions. But as the response to the pandemic changed within the U.S., officials began preparing an end to the policy.

       Earlier this month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention formally ended the policy for unaccompanied children, saying their expulsion “is not warranted to protect the public health.”

       Meanwhile, a federal appeals court in Washington D.C. ruled that migrants cannot be expelled to places where they would be persecuted or tortured. That ruling has not yet taken effect.

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       Without Title 42 in place, migrants would once again be able to seek asylum in the U.S. Before the policy was enacted, asylum seekers were screened to determine whether they could stay in the U.S. while their cases moved forward. But officials worry that returning to prepandemic practices would strain resources at the border as high numbers of migrants attempt to enter without authorization.

       Last week, the Biden administration announced that it will overhaul the nation’s system for asylum — a process that can drag on for years — with goals of speeding up processing at the border and alleviating immigration court backlogs. That new policy is scheduled to take effect May 28 but will initially apply only to a small number of migrants until officials can ramp up processing.

       Before the pandemic, migrants encountered near the border were screened by agency asylum officers for fear of persecution. Those who passed the initial screening would have their cases moved to the immigration courts, where a judge would decide whether they qualified for asylum or another form of protection and could stay in the U.S. Meanwhile, they were detained or released pending a final court hearing that could take months or years.

       Under the revamped asylum system and with Title 42 lifted, migrants would be allowed to make their case again, but the process would be swifter.

       San Diego Union-Tribune staff writer Kate Morrissey contributed to this report.

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