05/12/2023
The extinction of Title 42 means an increase in the flow of migration towards the US southern border, but Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas stresses that the borders are not open.
Hours after lifting border restrictions imposed during the pandemic, the US warned Thursday (05/11/2023) that it will continue to deport migrants attempting to enter the country without “legal channels”.
Amid fears of a massive influx, at 11:59 p.m. Washington time (0359 GMT on Friday) the so-called Title 42 will be lifted, a rule activated during the pandemic to ostensibly stop the COVID-19 pandemic, which was in the In practice, however, it has been used nearly 2.8 million times to expel migrants and prevent them from seeking asylum.
But in the context of the 2024 presidential election campaign, in which migration is a recurring theme, Democratic President Joe Biden’s administration took action on the matter to halt the eventual mass arrival of migrants at the border with Mexico.
He has achieved this by combining “legal avenues” with tightening asylum conditions, measures that Republicans, particularly his predecessor and future electoral rival Donald Trump, believe are inadequate.
From midnight, arriving migrants will be subject to Title 8, which has already been applied.
This means that if someone arrives without qualifying for asylum, “they face more serious consequences for illegal entry, including a minimum five-year re-entry ban and possible criminal prosecution,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro warned Thursday. Mayorkas .
However, meeting these requirements will be more difficult as the rule of presumption of “inadmissibility” for asylum comes into force at the same time, making eligibility for asylum dependent on two conditions: following the “legal channels” or applying in transit country and was rejected.
To pursue a “legal route,” the migrant can use family reunification programs, humanitarian permits for quotas for Venezuelans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Cubans, or process their applications through the CBP One mobile application before arriving at the border.
“It’s going to be chaotic for a while”
Migrants cannot believe that their future depends on a mobile application that they also think works poorly.
“Our borders are not open,” Mayorkas insists, to counter traffickers who “spread false information.”
Mayorkas assures that the transition from Title 42 to Title 8 will be “rapid”, with the help of 24,000 agents and border guards, although “we are already seeing a high number of apprehensions (of migrants) in certain sectors.”
Two days earlier, President Joe Biden himself admitted that “it’s going to be messy for a while.”
With few exceptions, migrants are deported to their countries of origin and, in the case of Cubans, Nicaraguans, Haitians and Venezuelans, to Mexico.
An activist, who asked not to be named, told AFP that many of those who were able to enter the country in recent days have been deported to Mexico via the California border, about 1,000 kilometers away.
Among the migrants who manage to enter, some sleep on the streets or in overcrowded shelters, others contact friends or acquaintances to travel to the cities where they are waiting for them.
When they run out of money, they go to work and look for a job, even if it is precarious.
mg (affp, efe)
US-Mexico Border: In No Man’s Land
Wait behind the wires
They want to enter: Migrants face US border police after crossing the US-Mexico border. This Thursday (11/05/2023) the United States will officially end its COVID-19 state of emergency after 40 months. It also repeals the controversial Title 42 immigration regulation that former President Donald Trump applied in March 2020.
US-Mexico Border: In No Man’s Land
Overcome the obstacles
For people currently crossing the cordons at the end of the Rio Grande border, the end of the travel ban brings hope: Title 42 allowed US authorities to turn migrants away at the border due to the emergency caused by COVID-19. More than 2.5 million people have been denied entry to the United States.
US-Mexico Border: In No Man’s Land
Track 8 replaces track 42
The US government is clarifying that the border will not remain open after Title 42 expires. The previous regulation is replaced by Title 8: Persons entering the country can apply for asylum if they present credible evidence of threats in their country of origin. Anyone who is rejected or does not apply for asylum will be deported immediately.
US-Mexico Border: In No Man’s Land
A risky misunderstanding
The authorities expect an avalanche of migrants along the 3,100-kilometer border line. This is because many of them interpret the end of Title 42 as the start of looser immigration policies. Like this group of people who are risking their lives by crossing the Rio Grande using only a rope.
US-Mexico Border: In No Man’s Land
longing for security
On the Mexican side of the Rio Grande, this woman, like other migrants, is hoping for a better life in the United States. The US government estimates that there are more than 150,000 migrants in northern Mexico hoping to reach the country. People are fleeing poverty, violence, autocratic regimes, natural disasters and organized crime.
US-Mexico Border: In No Man’s Land
the heart of hope
They have arrived in the USA: these migrants stand in front of a church in El Paso, Texas. Oscar Leeser, mayor of the border town, estimates the arrival of 15,000 migrants in the coming days and weeks. In neighboring Ciudad Juaréz there are already around 8,000 to 10,000 migrants, says Leeser. In addition, a “caravan” of refugees is on its way to Ciudad Juárez.
US-Mexico Border: In No Man’s Land
stranded on arrival
But in many US border cities, the authorities are already overwhelmed. In El Paso, migrants rescued from deportation are often forced to sleep on the street. The children ask for money, only toilets were built improvised.
US-Mexico Border: In No Man’s Land
between the fences
Immigrants are in no man’s land (between Mexico and the United States). It is questionable whether the end of Title 42 will really make it easier to enter the “land of opportunity”: President Joe Biden has announced that he will continue to crack down on illegal border crossings. It has mobilized another 1,500 troops to reinforce security at border crossings.