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President Joe Biden and his administration on Thursday prepared for the end of Title 42, a public health rule that curbed the flow of migrants trying to reach the U.S.-Mexico border and allowed U.S. border officials. announced new enforcement measures to expel thousands of migrants at its borders.
New measures announced Thursday expand the use of Title 42 while it is in effect and allow the U.S. government to immediately deport immigrants returning to Mexico from Cuba, Haiti and Nicaragua.
At the same time, the United States will establish parole programs that will allow some immigrants from these countries to legally enter the United States. The parole program is modeled after an earlier version aimed at Venezuelan immigrants.
“Today, these four countries make up the majority of the people who travel to Mexico and attempt to reach and cross the U.S. border to start a new life. , it’s simply a patchwork system that doesn’t work the way it should,” Biden said at the White House.
The U.S. Supreme Court has placed repeal of Title 42 on hold pending debate to determine the legality of the rules in force since March 2020. When it started, only immigrants from Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Mexico were eligible for deportation.
Immigrants from other countries who are not eligible for Title 42 enforcement are processed under Title 8 of the United States Code. That means they need to be detained and processed. They are placed in deportation proceedings or paroled and released to the country.
With the use of Title 42 extended to immigrants from other countries, they will no longer be eligible to apply for asylum at the border unless they pass the new parole program. There are 30,000 slots available each month for immigrants from Venezuela, Cuba, Haiti and Nicaragua to apply for parole. If approved, they will receive a two-year permit to work in the country, but they will need someone in the United States to sponsor them.
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The White House said individuals who illegally cross the border and are not eligible for Title 42 will be placed in expedited removal proceedings and given a five-year re-entry ban, virtually immediately.
Mexico has agreed to accept 30,000 deported immigrants each month from these four countries.
Impacts along the Arizona border could be particularly significant in Yuma County. Nearly 95% of his immigrants passing through southwestern Arizona to date have been ineligible for deportation under Title 42, according to government statistics, so Border Patrol had to detain them.
Immigrants from four countries selected under last year’s new measures accounted for nearly one-third of encounters in Yuma County. Now they can be expelled immediately. This could ease some of the capacity constraints that have forced Border Patrol to release more immigrants to care for nonprofits in the county.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security will oversee new enforcement actions at the U.S.-Mexico border. This includes expanding the use of the Customs and Border Protection One phone application to schedule appointments at legal ports of entry.
The phone app will be used to petition for Title 42 humanitarian waivers while Title 42 is in force, according to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorcas. But even with that policy repealed, the app will still be used to schedule appointments and allow asylum seekers to submit their applications at ports of entry for testing and processing.
“The app is designed to discourage individuals from gathering near the border and creating dangerous situations,” Mayorkas said at a press conference on Thursday.
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Immigrants can make appointments at eight border crossings along the southern US border. There are five DeConcini border crossings in downtown Nogales, five in Texas and two in California.
Mayorcas said his department is working with the Department of Justice to reissue a transit ban that would disqualify them from asylum in the United States if they did not seek protection in the countries they transited en route to the United States. .
Ariel Lewis, a policy analyst at the Institute for Immigration Policy, said the announcement to expand Title 42 would help stem the recent surge in immigration from these countries and give those already at the border a chance to enter the United States. He said he intended to give
After the United States began deporting migrants from Venezuela under Title 42 in October, the number of migrants arriving at the southern border from Venezuela plummeted, Ruiz said.
“That’s what the administration wants to stop Nicaraguans, Cubans and Haitians from coming,” Lewis said.
The announcement comes as the Biden administration is under political pressure from Republicans to retain Title 42 to prevent a worsening border crisis, and that migrants fleeing the crisis are legally seeking asylum in the United States. This was done in light of pressure from critics who want the policy to end because it impedes
Mark Morgan, former CBP commissioner under Donald Trump, criticized the announcement, saying Biden was responsible for dismantling the tools and policies Trump had put in place to manage flows along the southern border. said there was
“His continued attempts to deflect responsibility for a devastating and deadly crisis are as dishonest as the nonsensical ‘solutions’ he advocated in today’s speech,” he said. On the reverse course to defend our country’s borders, he doubled down on the failed open border policy. “
Immigration advocacy groups sharply criticized Biden for expanding his use of Title 42 and restricting access to asylum.
Mary Miller Flowers, a senior policy analyst at the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights, which helps immigrant children in Arizona and across the country, called Thursday’s announcement discriminatory. .
“Let me be clear: seeking safety is the right of everyone, regardless of race, ethnicity, nationality or language,” she said in a statement. “The right to asylum should not depend on the means of escape from danger or the economic means, but for too long seeking security has been treated as the prerogative of a select few. The inability to access protection proves this.”
Joanna Williams, executive director of the Kino Border Initiative, a Nogales-based humanitarian aid group, said the new border measures were in direct conflict with the country’s obligations.
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“The whole concept of asylum is based on protecting the most vulnerable people in our communities, and it is difficult for these specific programs to really reach the most vulnerable,” she said. Told.
“You automatically begin to prefer people who already have greater access to power and resources to those who are most vulnerable,” Williams added. We are prioritizing and prioritizing those who have the ability to navigate complex forms of government.”
Even members of his own party joined in criticizing Biden’s announcement. Cory Booker (DN.J.) issued a joint statement expressing disappointment with the expansion of Title 42 and plans to reinstate the ban.
Two Democratic lawmakers from Arizona partially praised Mr. Biden, but did not elaborate on Thursday’s announcement.
Rep. Greg Stanton instead focused on Biden’s scheduled visit to El Paso on Sunday. This was his first visit to the U.S.-Mexico border as a president.
“I am delighted that the President will be visiting Texas this weekend to see for himself what I have seen and heard. I told the administration that we desperately need better coordination, the federal government,” he said. “As I told Secretary Mayorkas last year, they didn’t seem to get the message yet.”
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Congressman Raul Grijalva has criticized Republicans, accusing them of politicizing the situation at the border while ignoring the needs of border communities like the ones he represents in Nogales and Yuma.
“For too long, Republicans have criticized bills that would modernize the immigration system, process immigration, and provide nongovernmental organizations and government agencies with the tools and resources they need to operate effectively in this humanitarian crisis. They have refused to sit at the negotiating table,” he said. Added.
Tucson Mayor Regina Romero said the Biden administration has taken “necessary” steps to address the humanitarian situation in southern Arizona and along the U.S. border. play an important role in the humanitarian response by non-profit organizations that assist immigrants who
“The City of Tucson and our partners on the ground need additional resources to ensure a humane and dignified process,” she said. It’s necessary for cities like Tucson and our nonprofit partners who are doing the work on the ground, and Congress must act now to deliver comprehensive and humane immigration reform.”
Republic reporters Daniel Gonzalez and José Ignacio Castañeda contributed to this article.
