Global Courant 2023-05-12 13:41:38
Still, the full impact of the post-change policy change remains to be seen, Irene Valenzuela, the executive director of the El Paso County Community Services Department, told NBC News Thursday.
“I think Friday morning will be the real test,” she said.
Valenzuela said what worries officials the most is “the unknown, not knowing how many are still waiting to come.”
Title 8 allows more people to apply for asylum, which could slow down processing at border facilities, but also includes a process to quickly return people across the border called “expedited removal.”
Title 8 will also allow for penalties, including a possible 5-year prison sentence and criminal charges for those who repeatedly attempt to enter the US illegally. Title 42 had suspended those sentences, leading to an increase in people crossing the border repeatedly after being deported.
At the same time, the US finalized new asylum restrictions on Wednesday so that migrants are not eligible for asylum, with few exceptions, unless they use existing legal processes, are present at a port of entry using the online CBP One app, or apply and were rejected for asylum in a third country they were traveling through.
El Paso County has prepared for a potential surge in thousands of migrants entering the city after Title 42 is lifted, Valenzuela said.
“The systems are in place to prepare migrants for their arrival in our community,” she said. “Any system can break if an extreme amount of volume comes in that we didn’t count on.”
“We are prepared as best we can. And we’ll see how all these new rules and policies will affect that,” she said.
As of Friday, the province’s Migrant Support Services Center will be able to handle 800 people a day, up from the current 650, Valenzuela said. Migrants arrive at the center after being processed by immigration authorities for the purpose of making travel arrangements to continue their journey. Since October, the service center has processed some 34,000 people.
Once processed, migrants can leave El Paso and go to their next destination, having first purchased their own bus and plane tickets. Many try to leave El Paso and join loved ones in other states, or go to the city where their trials will take place.
A migrant is beaten down at Gate 42 early Friday by Border Patrol agents.Adria Malcolm for NBC News
Valenzuela said the hope is that scaling up to 800 people a day or possibly more if needed could ease the pressure on NGOs hosting migrants. In recent weeks, up to 3,300 migrants in the area have been staying outside a local church and homeless shelter as shelter services have been full.
In the hours before Title 42 was lifted, migrants in Juarez, Mexico, sometimes waited for days along the border wall for a chance to enter the US
“Tonight is the decision for many of our Venezuelan brothers and many of our companions from other countries who are struggling here,” said Jesús Miguel Roera Mendoza, 26. Roera Mendoza has been waiting for processing along the border wall for about 10 days. On Thursday he made a round trip of more than two hours to get food and cleaning wipes.
“We have our hearts in our hands,” he said, emotionally at times, saying it would be “fatal” to be deported back to Venezuela.
He added, “We want to do things right…we want to enter legally.”
Damià Bonmatí, Noticias Telemundo Investiga contributed.
