The Secretary of Homeland Security reported on the new measures that will tighten asylum requirements for irregular migrants as the US prepares for the end of emergency health restrictions at the southern border.
The United States is preparing to protect its southern border with Mexico as the health emergency restrictions go into effect ends this Thursday, May 11threported Wednesday the Minister of National Security, Alejandro Mayorkas.
“The end of Title 42 does not mean an open border, quite the opposite,” Mayorkas said at a press conference.
He also detailed this Wednesday measures already announced to combat irregular migration, which will come into force next Friday 12 with Title 8, according to which migrants who arrive at the border without prior appointment and without refusal of protection in a third country are not entitled to asylum.
Under the new conditions, and unlike Title 42, those deported from Friday will have to wait five years to return to seek asylum in the US and could face criminal prosecution if they attempt to cross the border again .
“Our overall approach is to create legal avenues for people coming to the United States and impose tougher consequences on those who choose not to use those avenues,” Mayorkas stressed.
The US and Mexico launch campaigns to stop illegal migration
With the new regulation, the US authorities want to encourage the thousands of migrants who embark on the dangerous journey to use “legal, safe and orderly” routes while at the same time tightening the asylum requirements at the border.
“We are making it clear that our border is not open, that illegal crossing is illegal and that those who do not qualify for asylum will be quickly turned back.” Don’t listen to the smugglers’ lies. This is what will happen to you: you will be brought back,” stressed Mayorkas.
Further requirements for access to asylum
The new rule “assumes that those who do not use legal avenues to enter the United States are not eligible for asylum and allows us to deport people who do not have a credible fear of persecution in the country of deportation.” said Mayorkas.
The Secretary of Homeland Security explained that the “limited circumstances” under which an asylum application will be accepted would include individuals who “have used our legal channels,” that is, who have made an appointment with immigration authorities through the CBP One application and those who “have applied for asylum or protection in another country through which they have passed and which has been refused.”
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This last rule restricts the vast majority of migrants, as it stipulates that other than those seeking asylum from Mexico, which borders the US, the rest must first apply for asylum in a third country en route to US territory and receive a refusal. , before continuing.
However, the route most recommended by US authorities is to make an appointment through CBP One, which in the “first four months has helped 83,000 people book an appointment at a port of entry,” Mayorkas reported.
“We are taking action to expand the appointments available,” said the director of DHS, who announced he would be increasing the capacity of daily appointments from 300 to 1,000.
Mayorkas also announced they will be deploying more personnel to the southern border, including more than 1,400 DHS officers, 1,000 processing coordinators and another 1,500 Department of Defense personnel, so border officials can “focus on their critical mission.”
“We are dealing with tougher consequences for illegal entry, including the repatriation and deportation of more than 665,000 people in the first half of this fiscal year. We conduct dozens of deportation flights a week and continue to increase our capacity for deportation flights,” the Secretary of Homeland Security said.
Also read: The US tightens asylum regulations for irregular migrants at the border
Earlier Wednesday, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE) from El Paso, Texas, coordinated two repatriation flights that deported hundreds of people to Guatemala and Honduras.
An ICE spokesman at the scene confirmed that there were up to 135 people on each of the flights who were in CBP custody and being processed under Title 42. They were reported to have been held in custody for about 72 hours in different parts of the country. None of them were among the group of migrants who turned themselves in to authorities in El Paso on Wednesday.
On Thursday, as Title 42 ended, he confirmed that “enforcing Title 8 is something ICE has done in the past and will continue to do (from there. We are prepared.”
Each week, ICE operates up to 66 repatriation flights across the United States. That number is set to continue beyond Thursday, with greater frequency to countries in Central America and other South American countries such as Colombia and Peru, depending on demand.
According to official figures, about 1.4 million people were repatriated or deported from the United States in 2022.
At the same time, more than 100,000 people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela have legally entered the country humanitarian parole program The measure implemented by the US resulted in a 90% reduction in border meetings by these groups.
Warning to “Coyotes”
The US will launch a new digital information campaign in Central and South America “to counter the lies of smugglers with accurate information about immigration laws”.
In addition, Mayorkas reported that they arrested nearly 10,000 smugglers, or “coyotes,” who benefit from vulnerable immigrants, as part of an “unprecedented” campaign, recognizing that “it’s a regional challenge that requires a regional solution.”
Also read “Very Challenging:”: Mayorkas assesses the situation at the US southern border
“We continue to work with countries in America to prevent irregular migration. This includes a coordinated campaign with Colombia and Panama to prevent people from following ruthless smugglers into the very dangerous Darien, and we regularly work with our partners in Mexico on various issues,” the senior official said.
Mayorkas also called the regional processing centers that will be operational in Colombia and Guatemala “an exceptional example” of President Joe Biden’s leadership and handling of the immigration issue.
For the government, these processing centers will provide safe routes for migrants to enter the US and will be an opportunity to “eliminate smugglers and provide a safe and orderly route for those who qualify for asylum to enter the US “, he said.
“We are a nation of immigrants. We are also a nation of laws. Our current immigration laws are outdated. “The solution we are implementing is the best available within our current legal authority, but they are short-term solutions to a problem that has been going on for decades,” said Mayorkas, of Cuban origin, who also reiterated Biden’s request to Congress, a Approve immigration reform and allocate more resources to border management.
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