Global Courant 2023-05-10 03:01:44
US President Joe Biden’s administration is preparing for the end of a controversial public health order that has allowed authorities to deny most asylum seekers at the United States’ border with Mexico.
Biden called his Mexican counterpart Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Tuesday — just two days before the Title 42 policy expires — and leaders pledged to strengthen cooperation on the border.
“They discussed continued close coordination between border authorities and strong enforcement action,” the White House said in a reading of the talks.
“Both leaders underlined the value of managing migration in a humane and orderly manner with comprehensive legal pathways and implications for irregular migration,” it said.
Title 42, first imposed by former US President Donald Trump at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, enabled US border authorities to quickly reject most asylum seekers arriving at the border, without giving them the opportunity to apply for protection.
The policy has drawn widespread condemnation from rights advocates who claim it forces migrants and refugees to return to unsafe Mexican border towns and violates US obligations under international law.
White House spokesman Karine Jean-Pierre spoke to reporters earlier on Tuesday and claimed the Biden administration was ready to handle an expected influx of border arrivals when the rule expires Thursday.
“At this point, we believe we have a robust plan, a multi-agency plan, to do this in a humane way,” Jean-Pierre said, emphasizing Washington’s policy of “enforcement, deterrence and diplomacy.”
The White House announced last week that it would send an additional 1,500 US troops to the border pending the end of Title 42.
Border states, cities are preparing
American states and municipalities along the border with Mexico are also preparing.
Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott said Monday he plans to deploy the state’s new “Texas Tactical Border Force,” under the auspices of the Texas National Guard.
And on Tuesday, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents launched a “targeted enforcement operation” in the Texas city of El Paso, a key point along the border where an increase in irregular crossings has been observed in recent days.
The Department of Homeland Security also said it would reduce the flow of legal travelers through the Paso Del Norte Port of Entry to focus on security.
El Paso, as well as two other Texas cities, Brownsville and Laredo, have declared a state of emergency as they struggle with hundreds of people — most from Latin America and some from China, Russia and Turkey — already there.
El Paso Mayor Oscar Leeser said the city was gearing up for much more on Friday, judging by a recent tour of the neighboring Mexican city of Ciudad Juarez. “On the street, we estimate somewhere between eight and 10,000 people,” Leeser said.
Meanwhile, Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs in Arizona has said the state will transport people illegally crossing the border to other parts of the US to help with the added arrivals.
Humanitarian groups have already said that the number of people gathering at the border has increased sharply in recent days in anticipation of the end of Title 42.
In Matamoros, Mexico, migrants and refugees bought pool floats and life jackets to prepare to cross the Rio Grande River to Brownsville, Texas, migrant rights activist Gladys Canas told Reuters news agency.
In Tijuana, across from San Diego, California, asylum seekers formed long lines in front of a towering border fence on Monday in order to turn themselves in to US border agents.
Confusion and frustration
Those seeking asylum have expressed frustration with the CBP One app, which they are expected to use to schedule appointments to gain entry into the US.
Amnesty International has said the requirement “severely limits asylum seekers’ ability to seek international protection”.
Speaking to AFP news agency from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, a Venezuelan mother of two young children, Marjorie, said she had given up on the app. Instead, she tried to surrender to US border authorities.
“They just come and tell us they will receive us, but they never come back,” she told AFP. “They tell us to keep calm, to wait here, but they never come. We don’t know why.”
The Biden administration has said it will apply expedited screenings and deportations in the wake of Title 42 expiring. Unlike under the public health rule, those rejected will not be allowed to attempt to enter the US for five years.
The government is also expected to impose a rule that deems people unable to seek asylum in the US if they have passed through a third country before reaching the US border and have not applied for protection there first.
The move, dubbed an “asylum ban” by migrant rights groups, would widely limit asylum applications for Mexican nationals.
Earlier this year, the government also announced a plan that would allow Mexico to take in as many as 30,000 migrants and refugees each month from Cuba, Nicaragua, Haiti and Venezuela.
At the same time, Washington said it would take in up to 30,000 people each month from those four countries if they meet certain criteria, including having US sponsors and passing background checks.
The White House said Tuesday that the US and Mexico have agreed to “continue the successful joint initiative” after the end of Title 42.
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